Path of the Shinobi
by The BadAss Writer
Summary: What makes a shinobi? Is it their skills? Is it their intelligence? Is it how many jutsu they know? Is it how many people they have killed? A little dose of paranoia from Minato and Kushina see that their son has more than just a chance at finding an answer to that question. AU. Powerful Naruto. Harem.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor anything related to it. Everything is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. By the way, writing that today hurts as much as it did one or two years ago. I will go cry myself to sleep now.

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Prologue

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"Damn it all to hell!"

For the first time in quite some time, Minato Namikaze cursed the world for its unfairness. There he stood, in front of the mighty Kyubi, the only thing preventing the beast from killing him was the red-haired woman, his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, who knelt by his side because from her back, innumerable golden chains had emerged to both contain and suppress the Kyubi's overwhelming power and erect a barrier around the immediate zone so there was no further death on their side.

Everything had been going so well, fantastic even! Kushina was scheduled to give birth to their son that day and after a quick recovery on her part that thanks to her Kekkei Genkai was not going to be longer than a few minutes, they were going to go back to their house and spend the night falling in love with the child they had created until they fell sleep next to his crib only to be woken up by the cries of their son, their backs hurting because of the awkward sleeping position, demanding food or a change of diapers. They had everything planned! But that blasted masked man had to go on and ruin it!

The masked man, who was for some reason eerily familiar to Minato, had killed Kushina's midwives, Biwako and Taji, taken Naruto, their son, and had used him to bait him away from Kushina, who had obviously been the real target. After he secured Naruto he used the Hiraishin Mark that was mixed with Kushina's seal to teleport to her only to barely save her from being crushed by the beast she was currently chaining. The masked man had unsealed the Kyubi from Kushina and had been able to control it somehow and his wife's recovery, or even survival, was not certain now.

After he had taken Kushina to Naruto he had gone to deal with the situation as he was the Hokage and he had been feeling righteous anger at that moment and he had needed to vent and the Kyubi and the masked man had made very enticing targets. He had been preparing to take away the Kyubi from the village, seeing that the beast had been overwhelming their forces, killing them almost nonchalantly as it focused on causing as much destruction as possible, when the masked man had forced him to fight him using a Space/Time Ninjutsu that was even more advanced than his own Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God _)_ , which was saying something.

They fought and eventually Minato managed to understand the basic of his enemy's technique and he managed to defeat him -breaking all the bones on his ribcage and more than likely damaging all the organs there with an overpowered Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere) was more than just a bit satisfying- and break his control of the Kyubi. Then, with anger and hate that slightly shook Minato, the masked man had promised to comeback for the Kyubi, only the next time he was going to make sure he killed everyone, before disappearing using that strange but fearsome Space/Time technique.

Considering that promise, and the certainty in which it was delivered, Minato made a decision.

He then, with the aid of Gamabunta, managed to subdue the Kyubi, giving him enough time to warp it away from the village and he had tasked the Toad Boss to hold back the Kyubi for as long as he could before he went to get his wife and their son, seeing as they were part of his plan to prevent the masked man from doing whatever he wanted to do with the Kyubi. He had found his wife already sitting on the bed he had left her, looking even worse than before to his dismay but there was a resigned look on her face. Minato had noticed the tiny Hokan Fuin (Storage Seal) locked with a Dekitate Chi Tachi Fuin (Fresh Blood Detection Seal) and a Chakra Shomei Tachi Fuin (Chakra Signature Detection Seal) on Naruto's forearm but he had ignored it so he could hastily explain the plan to Kushina and he had been glad and saddened when she agreed, apparently already her thoughts had been going in the same direction as his.

Minato then had teleported himself and his family towards where the Kyubi was fighting Gamabunta, only to dismiss the Boss Summon just before it was killed by the Tailed Beast that was easily twice the size of Gamabunta. And that was how they found themselves in this situation.

Minato turned towards Kushina, sorrow and anger prominent on his face as he tried to ignore the Kyubi's roars full of anger and hate. "I'm really sorry Kushina. I wish there was another way for us to deal with this but… this is the safest option and the one we are both sure is going to work best. That masked man troubles me and there too many variables and unknowns to consider. This is the best we can do."

Kushina was crying as she held her baby boy in her arms and she looked down at him, love and regret filling her eyes. Naruto was beautiful. He had her red hair and skin tone but everything else was Minato and those whiskers like marks only made him cuter. A sad giggle escaped her lips as she thought of the many hearts he was going to break when he got older… and she was sure he was going to live to see an old age. It was the main reason they were doing this. To protect him.

She looked at Minato, straining with all her strength to keep the Kyubi at bay. It was made easier thanks to her special chakra that suppressed Biju's chakra almost naturally for some reason. "I know Minato, and I understand that but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I'm going to die anyways. Childbirth and having the Kyubi forcefully ripped out of me damaged more than what my Uzumaki Genes can handle." She smiled sadly and tapped the seal in Naruto's forearm. "I left everything that might be useful to him in here. I want him to have something that he can use to be close to us."

Minato nodded his head, tears also in his eyes. "That's good." He turned towards the Kyubi who had stopped struggling, realizing the futility of it and was merely glaring at them with hate, a snarl on its vulpine face. "I'm going to seal the Kyubi inside of him along some of our chakra so we can aid him when the time for him to control the beast's power comes, and for some reason, I am sure it will come. I'm glad his Uzumaki genes were the dominant ones and seeing that he had been exposed to the Kyubi's chakra through his entire development in your womb, I'm sure he'll be the most compatible container for the beast. I will also use the Shiki Fujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) to seal the Kyubi, the nature of the seal will make it so the only way to extract would be to use the Shinigami's Mask in the temple of your clan and only we know of that mask, and link it with a Hakke Fuin (Eight Trigrams Seal) to allow some of the Kyubi's chakra to leak into Naruto's own coils to make him even more compatible as he grows."

For one moment, Kushina let the savage grin that made her know across the Elemental Nations as the Red Death appear on her face. "We are going to be making a monster out of our son, Minato," she said that and despite the wariness and tiredness of her voice, one could still hear the mischief.

Minato smirked, his expression matching hers. "I only want everyone to think twice before they mess with our son." They soon became solemn and Minato shook his head. "It's time Kushina."

Kushina nodded her head and looked down at Naruto as a sealing shrine appeared in front of her. The Kyubi apparently recognized what it was and what it meant too, because it began to struggle once again. She looked at Naruto as tears streamed freely down her face but she was smiling. "Naruto, I'm sorry because I'm not going to be there for you physically but I did everything I could to protect you, as did your father. We know that you are going to experience a lot of pain and suffering but we made sure to leave you the means to cope with it. I want you to live life to the fullest and I want you to protect yourself and those you love with everything you've got. I know is a lot of responsibility but the job of the parents is to trust in their children, isn't it? Practice all the ninja arts that you are talented at the most but do not forget about the other ones! Also, always listen to Hiruzen-sama and Jiraiya-sama when they try to impart you with some wisdom about life, but don't let them corrupt you with their perverted tendencies. And don't go around looking at girls that only know how to be pretty, please be interested in strong girls… just like me! I love you, Naruto. Thank you for letting me be your mother."

Minato smiled, tears of his own streaming down his face. "Naruto, thank you for letting me be your father and listen to everything your motor-mouth mother just told you," he said and Kushina chuckled, telling Minato that she was sorry for taking all the time they had left.

Minato then turned towards the struggling Kyubi and clapped his hands. As the feeling of coldness and death began to fill the area, a spectral being appeared behind Minato. It was the Shinigami: a translucent gaunt specter with a demonic visage. It was much larger than an average human, possessing long, shaggy white hair, from which two red horns protruded, and purple-colored skin. It was draped in a large white garment and carried a set of prayer beads. There was a tantō in its mouth but that didn't hide the sharp wicked teeth it possessed.

Minato grimaced when he felt his chakra and life force being prepared to be used as sacrifice but he ignored the coldness and directed the Shinigami to do his bidding. The Shinigami, instead of shoving its cursed hand through Minato's stomach, it shoved its hand through Naruto's who began to cry. As that happened Kushina used her chakra to carve the Hakke no Fuin into Naruto's skin just around where the Shinigami's hand had come through and when she felt the seal linking with Naruto's chakra core in his stomach she nodded at Minato who commanded the Shinigami to take hold of the Kyubi.

Kushina released her chains with a sigh of relief and they watched as the Shinigami took hold of the Kyubi, paralyzing it in primal fear as it felt the cold hands of Death taking a hold of it. Minato then gave the order to the Shinigami to seal the Kyubi in Naruto and him and his wife watched as the Kyubi turned from a solid behemoth of orange-red fur into a condensed miasma of red chakra that vaguely resembled the shape of a fox. The chakra was then retracted into Naruto, when Minato and Kushina directed a piece of their own along with it and they watched as the cursed seals that went along the Shinigami's arm appearing, filling up the spaces of the Hakke Fuin, which made the combined seals look like a black circle with kanji and symbols extending outwards, before the mixed seal began to glow red for a moment before it turned black, which was the sign that the sealing was successful. And the fact that Naruto was still crying assured them that he was not dying because otherwise he would've exploded and the Kyubi would've escaped.

Minato panted as sweat poured down his forehead and he looked at Kushina as the Shinigami prepared to sever his soul and eat it. "Make sure that Hiruzen-sama and Jiraiya-sensei know what happened today, and what to do moving forward. I would've wanted the village to see Naruto as a hero but that would be naïve of me. Thinking that the village would do that after the amount of destruction and death the Kyubi caused? I doubt that. Also, I don't want him to use my last name as he will be in enough danger because of his clearly Uzumaki appearance. I love you Kushina. And thanks, for everything," he said with a loving smile towards his wife and he fell forward as the Shinigami severed his soul, devoured it and disappeared.

Kushina began to cry even further as she watched her husband, the man she loved with all her heart and the father of her child die but she gathered her strength and scooped Naruto, who immediately calmed down. Kushina pressed him against her chest and her tears fell on his chest. When that happened, she watched as he opened his azure eyes that matched Minato's and when their eyes locked Naruto tried to reach towards her and Kushina smiled and let Naruto grab one of her fingers, as she cooed at him.

Naruto gurgled happily and in that moment, Kushina knew that despite everything that happened tonight, it was going to work out in the end.

Kushina then released the chains that made up the barrier and she fell to the ground next to Minato's dead body in exhaustion. Not a second later, Hiruzen appeared in front of her, his eyes full of sadness and anger he looked at them.

"Kushina…"

She shook her head and smiled sadly at him. "I'm sorry Jiji. This day was not the best, huh?" She tried to joke but suddenly she coughed up blood which thankfully she managed to not get on Naruto. "I was already going to die and Minato was the only one who could use the Shiki Fujin the way it was needed to be used for our contingency plan to work. A masked man with the Sharingan ripped the Kyubi off me and managed to control it and he claimed that he was going to come back for it and this was the only way to make sure he couldn't get his hands on it. And the balance of power between the villages needed to be kept to prevent another shinobi war. It was the best option for everyone," she said and coughed up blood again.

Hiruzen shook his head sadly. "It may be for everyone else but not for you and certainly not for Naruto. Damnit Kushina, I could've used the Shiki Fujin to at least let Minato be with Naruto."

Kushina smiled, her teeth bloody. "That might be true but you know that Minato wouldn't let anyone else make a sacrifice that he himself wouldn't be willing to do. Look, Jiji, I want you to take care of Naruto," she said and she presented her baby to him and the old man took him and held him gently. "Don't let anyone know he has the Kyubi sealed inside of him, except for maybe Jiraiya-sama, Danzo-san, Mikoto-chan and Kakashi-kun if you consider they are trustworthy enough and wont spill the secret. Don't give him Minato's surname as that will only cause further trouble. The seal on his forearm is tied to his chakra and blood and it contains all our belongings. When he is old enough prepare him for the difficult times to come. That masked man is not going to rest until he has the Kyubi and that puts my son in danger and I didn't sacrifice myself just to have him die before he reaches adolescence. Promise me, Jiji. Please."

Hiruzen looked down at Naruto, noticing that his features were the perfect mix between Kushina and Minato and his eyes hardened and he nodded. "I promise Kushina. I will do my absolute best to protect your son. I don't know about Kakashi as he is still way too unstable but Jiraiya, Danzo and Mikoto will without a doubt help me take care of him and in time, prepare him."

Kushina smiled in thanks as her vision got blurry. "Thank you, Jiji. And please, allow him to make friends and connections to others. I want him to live happily and loved."

Hiruzen nodded his head, "Of course."

Kushina smiled, reassured and she let herself fall softly on top of the body of her husband, shortly dying from the strain her body had gone through during this whole ordeal. Naruto, as if knowing what just happened, began to cry and Hiruzen sighed sadly as he began to rock him to calm him down. As he looked down at the body of the two people that had given their lives to protect their village and their son, he wondered what the future had in store for all of them.

 **-PotS-**

Kurama, better known as the Kyubi no Kitsune, growled at the translucent purple wall of deathly chakra that made up the gate of his prison. He looked at the circular portion of the wall that had the physical representation of the lock of the seal, covered from the front by a gigantic piece of paper and then he looked at the thin tendril of his chakra that was going out of his body, through the wall created by the Shinigami's power and the darkness beyond that. His host was currently a baby and thus, there was no mindscape to surround the seal with. Kurama let out an irritated growl before huffing and plopping down to rest on the black 'floor' of the seal, glaring at nothing in particular, but more than a little angry at the general situation he found himself… again.

The strongest Biju was irritated, no, scratch that, he was fucking _livid!_

He was close, so close, to getting his freedom after a century of being imprisoned but it had escaped his grasp once again. Kurama wanted nothing more than to be able to go and do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He had longed for that ever since that… that… mongrel, Madara, had tricked him and ensnared with his Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye), using his power to momentarily match the might of Hashirama Senju… only to fail when Mito Uzumaki, wife of the aforementioned, sealed Kurama into herself, which was the deciding factor on the titanic battle that truly ended the feud between Uchiha and Senju.

Ever since then, Kurama had only known the confines of a prison made of ink, chakra and the will of his jailers, of which he truly hated one of them and only resented the other. Mito Uzumaki was the one he hated, the second human he hated the most, Madara obviously being the first, but not by much. She had deliberately taken away his freedom and after the conflict had ended she had refused to let him go, claiming that his power was too destructive to let it go unchecked. While not false, Kurama by that point in his life couldn't care less about causing mayhem and destruction for shit and giggles. He might have had, in very few occasions after the Sage's death, committed mass murder but they had had it coming because their negative emotions always annoyed him to no end. Mito had used that as an excuse to keep him sealed and he would've gladly walked away without attempting something against Hashirama or her had they let him go the moment Madara was killed. Fucking hell he had been ready to fucking thank them for releasing the hold Madara had over him!

But no. But fucking no! Mito had kept him sealed inside of her and then Hashirama had gone and imprisoned his siblings, giving them to other villages to keep the 'balance of power'. That had been the last nail in the coffin. While Kurama was not what you would call fond of his siblings, Shukaku and Gyuki especially, they were still his family and Kurama was nothing if not overprotective of those he cherished. Seeing and hearing Mito, telling him of the new living conditions of his siblings, had sent Kurama into a rage that burned for almost eighty years, the occasional visit from Mito only fanning the flames of his wrath.

And then Kushina had come and substituted Mito as his prison and the hate Kurama felt receded and transformed into resentment. The reason was because Kushina hadn't really had a choice. She had been handpicked as his jailor because of her 'special' chakra which was capable of suppressing Kurama's own chakra, which made her the perfect host for him. Kurama understood that and for a moment he had entertained the thought of helping her along the way, with the hope of perhaps gaining his freedom… only to be showered with the cold reality of the fact that Kushina had been utterly brainwashed by Mito in all matters concerning him.

Kushina too believed that he needed to be kept at bay but instead of fearing his power, like Mito, Kushina instead feared his hate, claiming that her love was the power that kept him at bay. Kurama scoffed so hard that the purple walls of his prison flared brightly for a moment. Her chakra and the masterpiece of her seal were the real power behind her ability to keep him sealed. It was the reason why he resented her, she had made the choice of following her predecessor's way of thinking concerning him. She had been indoctrinated into it since she was a little girl and Kurama was intelligent enough to not put the entire blame on her, even if she deserved it.

And finally, today had come, and Kurama tasted a bare few seconds of liberty before it was stripped away by another _cursed Uchiha with a cursed eye strong enough to control him!_ For a moment, Kurama thought that it had been Madara but he immediately discarded that thought. When Madara had controlled him, Kurama had been unable to think through the process, contrary to how it had happened a few minutes before, where had had been able to think, even if he had been unable to control his body. That meant that the Uchiha who had controlled him was also powerful, but thankfully, not at the level of Madara… at least, not yet. Their chakra had been different too.

Kurama watched everything that happened, unable to do anything to stop himself, not that he cared really but he was above destroying a village for no reason. He would've walked away, maybe stepping over a house or two, and he would've possibly, maybe, more than likely, surely devoured a human or two but nothing more than that. Anyways, he watched the destruction he caused and how Minato, Kushina's husband, had managed to subdue him and teleport him away with the aid of that blasted toad that reeked of Natural Chakra… something that helped with his wounded pride over the fact that an amphibian half his size had managed to momentarily keep him grounded.

All that lead up to him being sealed once again, this time into the son of Kushina and Minato… Naruto, that was his name. Kurama wanted nothing but to hate the newborn infant as he was his prison but if there was something Kurama couldn't do was lie to himself. He couldn't hate Naruto as he had absolutely nothing to do with Kurama's situation. As a matter of fact, Naruto was much of a victim as Kurama was, both had no choice in what had befallen them. As much as Kurama hated to admit it, Naruto was a kindred spirit.

Kurama, feeling calmer after a mental rant of the unfairness of it all, began to think about what he could do to make the best of this situation. Slowly, a vulpine grin appeared on his face and he chuckled darkly as he interpreted what his senses told him about his new jailor. The first thing Kurama noticed was that Naruto was so compatible with his chakra that for a moment Kurama couldn't say where Naruto's chakra ended and his own infinite amount began. When he managed to distinguish between their chakras, the main difference being of course strength, density and quantity, Kurama became aware of another thing about Naruto's chakra.

It had the same signature as Asura's, the youngest son of the Sage of Six Paths, a realization that had Kurama grinning savagely.

He knew of the trasnmigrassion process the chakra of Indra and Asura went through every hundred years and the previous transmigrants had been Madara and Hashirama, respectively. Just this fact alone gave Naruto an immeasurable amount of potential and if you took into account the innate talent he was sure to inherit from his parents (who Kurama loathed to admit were formidable warriors) and his status as a Jinchuriki, becoming one less than an hour after birth and the fact that he also was fully compatible with his biju…

Eagerly, Kurama began to aid the seal that was taking a minuscule amount of his chakra to give it to Naruto, increasing the amount of chakra by almost a factor of ten. For Kurama, it was such little chakra that he still ended generating more chakra than what he was giving his host. The reason why Kurama was doing this was because he knew that the Uchiha that had taken control of him had survived, that Space/Time jutsu of his made sure of that, and Kurama knew that Uchiha were arrogant, stubborn and prideful. There was no way that masked man was not going to come back again for him.

And to be completely honest, Kurama preferred being sealed to being controlled by an Uchiha. And since the masked Uchiha needed to secure/kill Naruto before reaching Kurama, his safest bet was assuring that Naruto became powerful enough to fight off any attempts at his life by the masked man and in time, join and help him deal with anything that might arise. Kurama was wise and intelligent enough to realize that maybe, just maybe, if he did that, he could earn his freedom. Naruto had not been indoctrinated like Kushina and, because of his chakra, was sure to be like Asura: kind, loving, understanding and compassionate and he was not going to be corrupted by war like Hashirama had been, at least not before Kurama made contact with him. Kurama new that Naruto would understand him and find a kindred spirit on Kurama just as Kurama had found one in Naruto.

And maybe, if he helped him, Naruto would grant Kurama his freedom.

 **-PotS-**

Hiruzen leaned back into his chair, taking a few seconds to relax. After he made sure to spread the information that the Kyubi was taken care off, he had taken Naruto to the hospital and had deposited him in the maternity unit without anyone being the wiser and since he was just another baby that was orphaned that night there was nothing to worry about anyone making a connection between Naruto and the Kyubi, but, just in case, Hiruzen left an ANBU agent watching over him. The ANBU had asked no questions and their loyalty was absolute as with Minato's death he had to take the mantle of Hokage once again.

The Professor sighed, whishing he had his pipe and some tobacco so he could calm down further. That was not to be, however, as the door to his office opened and the members of the prominent clans slipped in in various states of injury but none of them required immediate medical attention. Hiruzen's eyes watched them as they took positions in a semicircle facing him: Hiashi Hyuga, Shibi Aburame, Chouza Akimichi, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Fugaku Uchiha, Tsume Inuzuka and Murakumo Kurama. They were the heads of the more prominent clans within Konoha and the members of the Shinobi Council.

Hiruzen straightened his position on his chair and nodded at all of them. "Report."

Shikaku stepped forward, wincing a little as he damaged his leg further. Apart from the Clan Head of the Nara Clan, Shikaku was also the Jonin Commander and thus he had been the one in charge of reporting anything related to their military force. "We have lost over one thousand shinobi and kunoichi ranging from genin to jonin and we are still looking. There had been over three thousand injured, of them more than five hundred that we don't know whether they are going to make it or not. Honestly, we should consider ourselves lucky that we didn't lose more considering what attacked us and how we were attacked."

Konoha boasted the second biggest Military force in the Elemental Nations, Kumo's being the biggest because they were completely militaristic. With over fifteen thousand active shinobi at all times, all of them of good quality, Konoha maintained their position of the strongest village, winning in all three Shinobi World Wars thanks to the quality of those Shinobi. The death toll, while still massive, was not going to put a power hole in their village, meaning that they were in no threat of being attacked by other villages… for now. They still needed to keep a strong presence in the Elemental Nations but Hiruzen already knew how to deal with that.

Hiashi then stepped up and he looked as unflappable as ever. He was the most politically savvy out all of them, except maybe Hiruzen whose experience made for an unfair comparison, and that was without considering what his Byakugan allowed him to do. It was because of that he was in charge of Foreign relations and monitoring the economy of the village. "The Kyubi's attack thankfully was centered on the outskirts and we managed to push it away before it could cause too much destruction. That Bijudama it fired at the Hokage Monument managed to damage a good deal of structures but thanks to the Yondaime interfering, the damage was not what it could've been. I estimate that repairs are not going to put a big dent to our coffers and within a few months we will be recovered economically. Repairs should take a little more than a year, however."

Hiruzen nodded, somewhat relieved that the damages were not as bad as they could've been. They owed that to Minato and his almost instant action of taking the Kyubi away from the village merely minutes after it appeared.

When Hiashi stepped back Tsume walked forward and looked at Hiruzen with a frown on her dust covered face. "Sandaime-sama, how was the Kyubi stopped? We know that it was you who spread the news a few minutes after Minato-sama took it away. And where is he by the way," she said even if all of them had a good idea to what happened to Minato if the one sitting before them was Hiruzen and not the Yondaime. They, however, didn't want to make any assumptions.

Hiruzen sighed and he slumped in defeat as he prepared to lie to them all. It was the best and he had promised Kushina and he didn't go back on his words, much less now. "Minato, with the aid of Kushina, managed to get rid of the Kyubi apparently in a permanent fashion but it cost them their lives. Minato used the Shiki Fujin, a Fuinjutsu that summons the Shinigami and used it to seal the Kyubi within himself and take the beast to the afterlife because the Shinigami takes the soul of the user of the technique as payment. Kushina, who helped him by holding back the Kyubi with her chains, died too because she had just given birth when all of this happening and even her Uzumaki Genes couldn't deal with that." Nobody knows that Kushina had been the container of the Kyubi and it was best to keep it that way.

Tsume's eyes were filled with tears. "What of her baby?" She asked with a tight voice and no one could fault her. Everyone there knew that she, Mikoto Uchiha and Hitomi Hyuga were very close to Kushina and that they were all going to be devastated by her death. And while no one knew who was the father, they knew that Kushina had been pregnant and had been close to giving birth. When asked she always claimed that the father was someone very special to her and only Hitomi, Mikoto and Tsume knew who it was and while they had their suspicions, it was the best not to make assumptions. If it was a secret, it was a secret for a reason and it was best left that way.

Hiruzen let a small smile on his face that visibly calmed Tsume when she saw it. "He is alright and he is currently being checked in the North District Hospital as that was the least affected. I personally took him there after Kushina herself told me, before she died, that she wanted me to take care him. She also asked for forgiveness in advance for making you help take care of him while she took a nap," he said with sad amusement. While Kushina hadn't said that it was still correct to her character for her to say something like that.

Tsume sniffed but chuckled as she smirked. "That idiot. Of course, I will help take care of her son. And I'm sure Hitomi-chan and Mikoto-chan will be more than happy to do so as it will be a way for us to remember Kushina," she said and stepped back, still sad, but knowing that her friend left this world reassured that everything was going to be okay. And Tsume made a promise to herself, she was going to stay by Kushina's son's side no matter what may come. She was going to support him and her clan with her. And who knows, maybe a more official and legal alliance could be made if he turned out to be Alpha enough for her to approve for her daughter.

There were small smiles from everyone there except for Hiashi who kept his neutral expression, albeit softened somewhat, and Fugaku, who just kept the scowl on his face. The Uchiha Clan Head had never approved of his wife's friendship with the Uzumaki woman but there was nothing he could do about it as he was lucky if Mikoto stayed long enough in the house for him to open his mouth. He was lucky that he had managed to get two sons as per the agreement of their arranged marriage but thankfully the woman after that focused on her duties as a ninja and didn't want anything to do with their children, not that he faulted her or cared anyways. Itachi was proving to be a prodigy and he hoped that Sasuke lived up this namesake in talent.

Fugaku shook his head from those thoughts and he looked at Hiruzen. "What are our steps going forward? We can't give the other nations an excuse to attack us. We need to keep our presence and power."

Hiruzen regarded Fugaku with a neutral look that had the Uchiha Clan Head slightly nervous before he responded. "You do raise a good point, Fugaku-san. I have already considered our options and I have many plans to make sure that the other nations don't even think of using this to their advantage. Rest assured that in the incoming days everything will be set in motion but as of now I only have general ideas that I will discuss further with Shikaku-san," he said evenly, not really trusting Fugaku. Kushina had told him that a man with a Sharingan had been behind the Kyubi attack and while he didn't have a lot of reasons to doubt the Uchiha's loyalty to the village, he had noticed tensions rising because of their isolation that was imposed by the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

Fugaku scowled further but he said nothing as he nodded and stepped back. Hiruzen inclined his head and addressed the entire Shinobi Council. "While this tragedy has stricken us hard, we must rise above what we lost today and keep going strong from tomorrow and onwards, not as a show for the other villagers that wish nothing but our destruction, but for those we have sworn to protect. Moral must be kept high in this circumstances otherwise we will never recover. Rest for tonight because tomorrow we will rebuild," he said, giving them a comforting smile.

The other members of the council shared his smile and in the case of those that weren't that expressive, such as Shibi, Hiashi and Fugaku, they nodded in agreement. The members of the council bowed before they left, knowing that their families needed their comfort and reassurance that everything was going to be alright despite everything that happened. It was the best they could do now.

Hiruzen sighed and closed his eyes as he leaned back into his chair and he took a deep breath. His eyes remained closed for a few seconds and he opened them when he felt a presence slipping into the room and taking a seat in front of the desk. "You sure took your time, Danzo," he commented idly as he looked at his old friend.

Danzo snorted. "I'm not as young as I used to be, Hiruzen," he said dryly as he looked at his old rival with grim amusement. In the past, he had been deeply jealous of Hiruzen because he had gotten the Hokage position and not him but through the years he had learned that he didn't need to be Hokage to make sure Konoha was protected and thriving. It was the reason he had created ROOT. While Hiruzen didn't approve of his methods and even had it disbanded after he found out the kind of training they did, to this day Hiruzen had never been able to say that they had not been effective, and useful, when active.

Hiruzen scoffed as he grinned wryly. "That much is clear," he commented in the same tone before he sobered up and locked eyes with Danzo's only visible eye. "We need ROOT," he said without preambles.

Danzo stared at Hiruzen blankly for a few seconds before he raised one of his eyebrows. "Oh? Why the sudden change of sentiment?" He asked sarcastically. ROOT had been disbanded barely three years ago, just before Minato took the mantle, and for Hiruzen, who was as stubborn as a mule, to rebuke his decision was unheard of. He had an idea as to why but he doubted that needing ROOT was necessary to keep Konoha on its feet any longer. Chunin, Jonin and the ANBU force were more than enough for that.

Hiruzen interlocked his finger as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on top of the desk. "For many reasons, really. What I am about to tell you must not leave this room. We have to put our differences aside and work together, Danzo. We don't have the luxury of a silent war between the two of us because a lot of things are happening that should we not focus entirely on them, it could mean the destruction of Konoha."

Danzo sucked in a sharp breath as he listened to Hiruzen and took heed of his seriousness on the matter. "I'm listening."

"It was apparently an Uchiha with a Sharingan strong enough to control the Kyubi that orchestrated this whole thing," he stated bluntly and like he expected, Danzo's eyes had widened in astonishment. "Before she died. Kushina told me everything that happened from her perspective. A man with a mask struck just after she gave birth and after killing ANBU Taji and… Biwako… " He gritted his teeth and sucked his tears. He will mourn his wife alone later when he was alone. "He used Kushina's son as a distraction and managed to take her away from Minato. After that he extracted the Kyubi from her and took control of it with his Sharingan and had it not been for Minato appearing, she would've been crushed by the Kyubi on the man's command. Kushina told me that Minato had taken her to their son before he disappeared again, most likely that was when he intervened and took the Kyubi away, and she used the opportunity to seal everything of value into their son, Naruto, because she knew that there were slims possibilities of them, especially her, surviving the night. And then…" He trailed off, regaining his breath. "Minato, with her help, sealed the Kyubi into Naruto."

Danzo's eyes were wide as saucers as he looked at Hiruzen in disbelief. He remained like that for almost a minute, his mouth moving but no sound coming, until he slackened into his seat and gave Hiruzen a wry look. "I'm way too old for this shit," he muttered before he looked at Hiruzen again, his eyes pondering and gleaming with numerous thoughts. "I see why would you want ROOT back. Do you want me to train the Jinchuriki using my methods?"

Hiruzen shook his head with an almost disgusted look on his face. "For Kami's sake, no!" He declared intently before he relaxed. "While I will need your help on training Naruto once the time is right, the reason I want ROOT back is because the Uchiha that used the Kyubi is still alive and he promised Minato that he was going to come back for it in the future. I want ROOT back as a complete unknown force which purpose is to protect Konoha from inside and outside forces in a proactive manner. I'm talking espionage and counter-espionage, infiltration, sabotage, assassinations. Done so undercover that not even the damn ANBU knows about it," he said grimly but with a sense of finality that few had ever seen before.

Danzo looked at Hiruzen with surprise but soon enough he was grinning in a grim fashion. "I knew that Tobirama-sensei affected you more than you let on," he commented with dry amusement before he got serious. "It will take some time to get ROOT back to what it was before you ordered it dismantled. I can take back those I released as civilians as they have surely not talked about it and kept their physical training. We will need a means of recruitment to keep the ROOT agents numerous enough to matter, however, and I doubt that you want me to take orphans, much less continue with my methods."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "Correct. We will discuss this further in the future. We must focus in what we are going to do with Naruto. As much as I hate to admit this, he is an asset for Konoha as a Jinchuriki AND the last known Uzumaki and thus he needs to be trained and taught to be loyal to Konoha," he said and it left a bitter taste on his mouth. "I will not, however, brainwash him and raise him as a machine that only knows how to cause destruction in Konoha's name. Kushina made me promise that he was going to grow happily and as normal as it was possible. That's the reason why his status as a Jinchuriki must be kept a secret for as long as we must."

Danzo nodded reluctantly. He would've preferred a Jinchuriki that they could control completely but there were more risks revolving around that way than Hiruzen's. A Jinchuriki's mental state affected the usage of their Biju's chakra and while emotional suppression could work for a time, there was the risk of those emotions surging to the surface all at once. Needless to say, the possibilities were quite… volatile, to say the least. "What do you propose then?" He asked curiously.

"You will adopt him," ordered Hiruzen, shocking Danzo. "We must keep him close to us to monitor him for any change and start instruct him in the ninja arts when the time is right and he needs to be loyal to the village, meaning that he needs to form as many attachments as possible to let him become loyal to Konoha on his own. When the time is right, maybe when he is six or seven, we can start training him to become a ninja and get him interested to join the Academy at ten. I am loathing to do this but I must, to keep both Naruto and Konoha safe."

Danzo chuckled as he gave Hiruzen a look of grim amusement. "That's surprisingly pragmatic and ruthless of you to do, at least the sentiment behind your actions, not the actions per see. Hmm, I agree. I will take care of young Naruto and help him grow to become a shinobi Konoha and Tobirama-sensei will be proud of," he declared with a strong voice, reminding Hiruzen of the fact that this man had been worthy of being deemed his rival in the past. Danzo then frowned. "What are we going to do about the Uchiha?"

Hiruzen leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest as he pondered the admittedly legit question. Kushina had confirmed that it had been an Uchiha who had orchestrated everything as she had seen their Sharingan, even behind the mask she claimed they had been wearing. There wasn't proof enough to implicate a member of the clan but the isolation the clan has faced ever since the Nidaime ruled gave them enough motive to try something like this. It needed to be looked into no matter what other actions they took forward into investigating what happened and how the knowledge of Kushina being a Jinchuriki had leaked out as only a select number of people knew about it.

Eventually Hiruzen hmmed in thought before he thoughtfully spoke. "We need to keep tabs on them, but, in such a way that they suspect nothing. Their Sharingan makes them incredibly hard to spy on. If we are going to spy on them we have to do it with someone that is implicitly loyal to the village, but also has the clan's trust," he pondered aloud as he rubbed his pointed goatee.

Danzo nodded. "Who do you have in mind?"

"… Mikoto Uchiha."

 **-PotS-**

Fugaku Uchiha was a very prideful man. He had pride on his position as the Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan, he had pride on his abilities with his Sharingan and he had pride on his son Itachi, who was considered the biggest prodigy since the Yondaime Hokage, a comparison that was not made lightly. Fugaku's pride was the source of his strength and his resolve to do everything for his clan. It was also the reason behind his current state of anger.

As he made his way through the Uchiha Compound, which had resulted largely undamaged from the attack because of how far away it was from the village, Fugaku gritted his teeth as he watched his clansmen and clanswoman consoling each other after the attack. A few of their clan had died defending the village and that fact only served to enrage Fugaku more. Uchiha men and women had died defending a village that had been slowly but steadily pushing them away for more than fifty years and the talk with the Sandaime today made it more than clear that the status was not changing any time soon, if ever.

Fugaku was sure that Hiruzen at least suspected him of having a part in the attack and while it filled him with pride that the Sandaime considered him powerful enough to control the Kyubi, it still left him with a bitter taste on his mouth as Fugaku had been anything but loyal to the village, even if it deserved what it happened to it, at least from his perspective. Fugaku shook his head as his house came into view. He would think about this later but of one thing he was sure.

Things needed to change and it was time for the Uchiha clan to be proactive in their aim for that change.

Fugaku finished the trek towards his house and smoothly slipped inside and he followed the light sound of footsteps coming from the living room area, deducing that it was where his sons had been waiting for him. It turned out, however, that his sons were not the only ones in the house and the other occupant of the living room made him raise an eyebrow at her presence and a stab of justified lust went through Fugaku as he looked at the woman leaning against the wall of the living room of his house.

Mikoto Uchiha was beautiful even by the standars of kunoichi. She had long, raven black hair that framed an oval shaped face that was the epitome of mature beauty and her black eyes contrasted nicely with her fair white skin tone. And while she was no Tsunade Senju, Mikoto flaunted curves that had driven both men and women crazy with lust and jealousy, not necessarily respectively.

Fugaku was also prideful over the fact that he had bedded her a few times trying to conceive his sons. Fugaku ignored his base instincts and he turned towards Itachi, who was holding Sasuke protectively, as he stared at Mikoto with suspicious eyes. The reason being, that Itachi didn't even know that Mikoto was his mother, because the woman barely stepped into the house and every time she did it was when Itachi was away. As a matter of fact, Fugaku knew that Itachi believed that he and Sasuke had different mothers and only shared him as their father, but thankfully, that didn't lessen the obvious love Itachi held for Sasuke.

Fugaku stepped towards his sons, smiling lightly as Itachi visibly relaxed. He knelt in front of them and softly wrapped his arms around his eldest, being careful not to startle and wake up the sleeping Sasuke. "Everything is going to be alright, Itachi. The situation was dealt with and we are safe. You and Sasuke are safe," he assured them strongly, ruffling Itachi's hair affectionately and tenderly rubbing Sasuke's cheek with a finger.

Itachi smiled in relief as he pressed himself into the comforting embrace of his father. "I'm glad, Tou-sama," he said before he gave him a worried look. "Tou-sama, who is that woman? She came into the house a few minutes after you left and just stood there watching us without saying anything."

Fugaku smiled at his son and shook his head. "Don't worry about her. She is a member of the clan I assigned to watch over you while we dealt with the Kyubi. Now, get Sasuke to his crib and go to bed. We have much to do tomorrow."

Itachi seemed unsure still but he nodded. "Hai, Tou-sama," he said before he walked out of the room, but not before giving Mikoto another distrustful look as he made sure to keep Sasuke the furthest away from her.

The moment they were out of the room Mikoto pushed herself off the wall and without a word began to make her way towards the same door Itachi had used, only that she was going to go out of the house and towards her room in the ANBU HQ, which honestly felt more like home than this house.

"I'm surprised you even came here," commented idly Fugaku as he looked at her with honest curiosity. He knew that Mikoto felt nothing for their children, not that he blamed her really, so it surprised him more than he cared to admit that she had come here to see them, when she had never done before.

Mikoto stopped for a second, gave him a hard look before she shook her head almost imperceptibly and continued walking, not saying a word.

Fugaku sighed as he heard the click of the door closing and he made his way towards his own room. Like he had said to Itachi, there was much to do tomorrow and he needed to rest to keep a clear head and make decisions for what was best for the clan. Konoha be damned.

 **-PotS-**

A conflicted look settled on Mikoto's face the moment she stepped out of the house and the reason behind those conflicting feelings were the two youngest inhabitants of the house she had just stepped out off. Regarding Fugaku, Mikoto couldn't care less about what happened to that selfish and arrogant bastard and the only times Mikoto allowed herself to think about the man was when she would remind herself how unimportant he was, thoughts that got into her mind maybe once a year, if any.

Mikoto shook her head with a sigh before she swiftly jumped onto the rooftops and began to make her way towards the village proper, knowing that she was needed with repairs and rescue missions as an ANBU. Her thoughts went back to what she had done the moment she had seen the Kyubi rampaging. The first thing she had felt had been dread, as she had known that Kushina was the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi, and worry about her friend. What had shocked her, however, was the fact that instead of trying to find out what had happened with her friend she had gone to make sure that Itachi and Sasuke were safe.

They were her sons, yes, but not by her own choice. And Fugaku might be arrogant, ruthless, a bully at his core and selfish but he was not a rapist… to the best of her knowledge, at least. No, to Mikoto he was possibly worse than that. Fugaku was the kind of man that wouldn't think about how others were affected in his pursuit of his ambitions, whatever they were at the time. While Mikoto had in the end conceded, as she hadn't had another choice other than turning traitor and leaving the village or being executed for not following the rules of the clan, which was equal to treason, she still felt as if her family had been trying to steal her own ambitions and dreams away from her.

Some years ago, Mikoto's father had been the Clan Head of the Uchiha, while Fugaku's had been the Head of the Police Department. Mikoto and Fugaku used to be good friends even and Mikoto was above lying to herself and she could admit that for a time she considered Fugaku more than worthy of being her partner for when she decided to settle down and focus on building a relationship and through it, a family. And that had been the key point: when **she** decided that she was ready for that.

Mikoto's focus at that time had been (And still was to this day) her career as a kunoichi. There had been nothing more than Mikoto wanted than to make her family, and by extension the whole clan, proud of her abilities. Also, one of Mikoto's dream had been that the village would include the Uchiha Clan back in its proper territory because they were part of Konoha, one of the clans that founded it even, and as such they needed to be as close to the village as possible to offer it their abilities the best they could.

Those dreams and ambitions had gone down the drain the moment Fugaku decided that he wanted to be Clan Head _and_ Head of the Police Department. The Uchiha Clan recognized strength more than anything else and it was through combat that positions were passed down or taken away, along with other things, so, because the Uchiha were naturally prideful it was very seldom when challenges were ensued and not accepted. Fugaku had used to this advantage.

The at that time twenty-year-old man had first challenged his father for the position and as much as Mikoto loathed to admit it, Fugaku was a damn good shinobi. While currently she was easily stronger than him, because of her years in ANBU, the experience that came with it and refusal to just rely only on Uchiha jutsu, there was no denying that for a time Fugaku had been the strongest Uchiha in the village. His talent and potential had seen it that he had been momentarily recognized as such. After he took away his father's position after injuring him enough that he died a few weeks later, Fugaku set his sight on the position of Clan Head, a battle that had the same results as the one with his father.

After that, Fugaku had forced her to marry him, using the old clan laws/costumes and the backing of the Uchiha Elders, who were suckers for tradition. Mikoto had married him and had been forced to give him two male children so he could continue on his family line. Thankfully, nothing on the contract said that she needed to be part of the family after she did her duty as Fugaku's wife, so she had essentially moved away to the ANBU HQ, only making appearances so Fugaku and/or the Elders wouldn't bitch about it. She had thrown herself into training, only caring about her career and her friends. Even her previous feelings for the Clan faded away after a few months, seeing as it was the costumes of the Clan itself that almost took away her ability to choose for herself.

That was why it bothered that the first thing she had done was to go and see if Sasuke and Itachi were alright but, after reflecting for a second, she got her answer. While she didn't care about them, and she definitely didn't want to be a part of their life, seeing as they being born wasn't a plan that she had decided on, they were still _her children,_ and that meant that she at least didn't want to see them hurt or dead. While to her Kushina was more important than them, Kushina had Minato to look after her and to Mikoto, Minato's presence certainly meant Kushina's safety be default. She had realized that subconsciously so she had gone to see her unwilling offspring to make sure they were not dead. Her mouth twitched as she recalled Itachi's distrustful reaction to her. He was almost a carbon copy of Fugaku and Sasuke was a mix of them.

Her thoughts were interrupted as an ANBU agent appeared at her side in a flicker of motion and she raised an eyebrow from behind her mask as he saluted sharply at her. "Captain Raven, ma'am. Sandaime-sama requests your presence at Danzo-sama's living quarters ASAP," he said before he disappeared in another flicker of motion.

Mikoto, growing more worried, changed directions and headed towards where it was just requested from her. Danzo Shimura's house was located at the edge of the village but close to the Hokage Tower, which was on the opposite direction of where Kushina and Minato used to live. This confirmed that something had happened to Kushina, Minato and their child because otherwise the Sandaime wouldn't have asked specifically for her in any other matter. It was common knowledge that she was close to them so the only reason she could phantom that warranted her being called after Kushina was forcefully tripped of her Biju the day she was due to give birth, was because something, more than likely bad, had happened.

Mikoto reached Danzo's villa after a few minutes of rooftop jumping at her top speed and she knelt in front of the Sandaime who was looking at her grimly. Her body language and voice didn't betray the dread she felt as she spoke. "ANBU Captain Raven ready for duty, Sandaime-sama."

Hiruzen sighed sadly as he looked at her. "Follow me and take off your mask, Mikoto-chan. This meeting is going to be extra-official," he said before he turned around and began to walk into the house.

Mikoto quickly stood up and followed him inside. She took of her mask and she let her emotions appear on her face and body language as she walked beside the Sandaime. "What has happened, Hiruzen-sama? Are Kushina and her family alright?" She asked almost frantically, desperate for an answer.

Hiruzen didn't answer, aggravating Mikoto further and making her imagine that the worst had happened to a few of the people she was the closest to. She followed the Sandaime until they reached the living room space of the house and she gasped when she saw Danzo sitting in one of the comfortable chairs holding a red haired sleeping baby wrapped snuggly in a bundle of cloth. The sight of Danzo, a man she knew to be ruthless, pragmatic and apathetic to everything that wasn't the protection of Konoha, rocking a child back and forth to keep him calm and lulling it to sleep had Mikoto staring.

Noticing the stare, Danzo grew annoyed. "What? Can't an old man hold a sleeping baby?" He asked rhetorically before he shrugged, stood up and walked towards Mikoto and presented the baby to her. As Mikoto took the baby gingerly, spoke in a dry fashion to himself. "Is my reputation that bad?"

He was ignored as Hiruzen focused on Mikoto, who in turn couldn't take her eyes off the red-haired baby. She took in all his features and she choked on a sob, her eyes tearing, when she saw that he was the perfect mixture between the best of Kushina's and Minato's features. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to hold back her tears but it was to no avail as twin streaks of salty water trailed down her beautiful face.

Mikoto held the child to her bosom and turned towards Hiruzen, who had a sad look on his wizened face as he looked at Mikoto and Naruto. "What happened to them?" She asked, her voice hollow and resigned, knowing the answer already but unwilling to jump to conclusions herself, clinging to the last bit of hope within her.

Hiruzen turned towards Danzo. "If you may," he said and Danzo nodded before he walked towards the door of the room they were at and closed it. Danzo then put his hand on the door and suddenly glowing white words adhered to the surface of the door spread, the point of origin being beneath Danzo's hand on the door, until they covered the entire room. After a second they stopped glowing and soon disappeared as if they were never there.

Danzo turned towards Hiruzen and nodded his head. "All secure."

Hiruzen nodded at him in thanks before he looked at Mikoto sorrowfully. "You should sit down, Mikoto-chan," he said and when she did Hiruzen proceed to tell her everything that happened that night according to Kushina, who had been at the center of all of it. He told her from when the masked man had used Naruto to distract Minato long enough to take her away and the Kyubi had been extracted of Kushina and almost killed had had it not been for Minato and everything in between until the part where the Kyubi was sealed into Naruto, which understandably shocked her to her core.

"… and that is what transpired tonight. Kushina herself told me to tell you because you were trustworthy and she wanted your help with taking care of him."

Mikoto looked down at the peacefully sleeping baby, her face blank for a few seconds before she blinked and an even expression settled on her face as she turned her head in Hiruzen's direction, catching his slight flinch as he saw the expression of her face. "You are telling me that there is a high chance, that is almost probable, that the Uchiha Clan was the one that orchestrated the events that lead to Kushina's and Minato's death, subsequently leaving their newborn son an orphan?" She asked softly.

When Hiruzen nodded his head, Mikoto right there killed the tiny bit of sympathy she still held for the clan due to Itachi and Sasuke and dumped the slashed remains into the darkest corners of her heart, where they will never surface again. How dare they? Not only did they took her right to choose for herself away with the stupid costumes of the clan but now they also took away the person the mattered the most to her? That was something that Mikoto was never going to forget or forgive in her life.

Her heart was filled with hate and purpose: Hate for the Uchiha, who had taken everything she cared about away from her and also the purpose that she was given in the form of the baby she was holding in her arms and Mikoto smiled a very little smile, filled with bitterness and gratefulness as she stared at the peacefully sleeping baby. It seemed like Kushina knew how she was going to feel about her death, lost and without direction, and she had taken steps into assuring that Mikoto always had a purpose pushing her forward so she had given her perhaps the most important one: To protect Naruto, her son, at all costs. And if that meant spying on her wretched and treacherous family for the village, then so be it. As tears of blood began to trail down her face, her Sharingan activated and it began to spin slowly, the black of her eyes morphing until they resembled a flower, a lotus. She ignored the wide eyes of Hiruzen and Danzo as she tightened her hold around the baby she had sworn to protect with her life, because this… this news… Kushina and Minato being dead, possibly and more than likely because of the wretched Uchiha… changed everything.

 **-PotS-**

"Fuck!"

"Mm, I think Obito-chan is upset," said a jovial and childish voice coming from something that could only be described as a nightmare. It was wearing a cloak, which covered what seemed like a normal, male human body… which was the only thing seemingly human from the speaker. From its shoulders, a gigantic venus flytrap rose, looking like it was about to swallow the head of the thing, which was also weird since one half was white-colored and had distinguishable human features such as a normal yellowish-brown eye, while the other half was completely black, with a yellow circle as that side's eye. There was a bush of messy and spiky green hair on its head.

Suddenly, from the same creature, a dark and deep chuckle resounded as it watched rage as he contorted in the ground in agony, trying to relieve the pain from having most of his artificial body destroyed, along with what was left of his normal body. **"Hehehe, I think you would also be mad if years if careful plaining were shot down the drain because you underestimated your enemies and overestimated yourself,"** the voice commented cruelly, making sure that Obito heard him.

Obito stopped screaming and raging on the ground and he reached for his mask and threw it aside, showing a deeply scarred face that lacked one eye, the other one being a red eye with a black design that looked like a three-pronged shuriken with its blades sharply twisting and going inwards but ended going into the next blade. Blood was trailing down from the corner of his mouth and he panted in exhaustion. "You… you try… keeping control of the Kyubi… and fighting… the Yondaime Hokage… at the same time…"

"Well, he does have a point," muttered the childish voice again as the head of the thing cocked to one side, regarding Obito almost thoughtfully as he coughed up blood and went back to screaming and cursing in pain. "I think he is going to die if we don't do something soon," said the childish voice again idly.

The dark voice sighed. **"Tobi."** From the darkness of the cave, another weird being came walking when the dark voice spoke. It was a fully white humanoid with a noticeable spiral-pattern that stretched all over its body, ending in a circular eye-hole on the right side of what could only be its head. This pattern did not cover his forearms and legs. When the new arrival was next to the one who had called it, the dark voice spoke again, pointing at the panting and twitching Obito. **"Stabilize him and don't let him die. We cannot afford to lose him as Madara-sama has already invested a lot of resources on cultivating him into his agent and that cannot be allowed to go to waste."**

Tobi nodded and quickly walked towards Obito before the spiral pattern of its body opened outwards, revealing that there was nothing but air inside Tobi, in a disgusting fashion before it enveloped Obito, who didn't resist at all, almost like this wasn't the first time it happened. A few seconds later and the covered body of Obito stopped shaking and his screaming and cursing also stopped. Another voice then spoke, this one even more childish than the first one. "All of the bones of his ribcage are broken, his lings were punctured and his heart was grazed by a shard of bone, though luckily none of the coronary arteries were damaged. Hmm, his intestines were also damaged by a bladed weapon but they are already healing thanks to the Hashirama Senju's cells that are on his body. He'll live but he won't be able to move around freely until at least a week."

The dark voice hmmed before the head of the bi-colored being nodded. **"That's alright. Just make sure to keep him alive. He has proven himself capable of completing his objectives and that's the least we can do,"** the voice said before the creature shrugged its shoulders uncaringly.

The childish voice then piped in in an unsure manner. "Um, completed the objective? I don't think if you noticed, Zetsu, but the Kyubi is still in Konoha's hands."

The creature shook its head before it spoke in dark amusement. **"The mission was not to get the Kyubi, you imbecile. Obito could take control of the Kyubi, but that would've only lasted for a few minutes, regardless of the strength of his Sharingan. And even if we had gotten the Kyubi, we would've needed to wait to seal it since it has to go in order from weakest to strongest, and the Kyubi is the strongest of the Tailed-Beasts. Now, the mission did involve releasing the Kyubi on Konoha, in order to destabilize it and goad the other Hidden Villages to act against it, which would only aid us in our quest of gathering the Tailed-Beasts. While not as much shinobi as I hoped died, the death of the Kiiroi Senko and the Aka Shi will hurt Konoha deeply, so I still consider the mission a success, though our plans will have to be delayed a bit more since the other villages won't act as openly as the would've otherwise ad Konoha is sure to take its own countermeasures."**

"Hmm, oh! I get it! So, all of this was just a plan to make the Big Five focus on each other while so Nagato-kun and Konan-chan can dethrone Hanzo without fearing intervention from the other villages, since all their resources will be focused on the others. I guess this will also help with the recruitment process for the Akatsuki, right?" deduced the childish voice, a white hand coming up from the cloak the creature was wearing to conceal its body which cupped the chin of the being.

The response the childish voice got was a dark chuckle that was deeply amused and the owner of the childish voice had the distinct impression that the owner of the dark, deep voice was smirking along with the fact that it knew something that the one with the childish voice didn't. **"Oh, you have no idea how Obito's mission is going to help with the recruitment process."**

As the dark voice continued to chuckle in dark amusement, the childish voice whined. "Aww." Anyone could hear the pout on the childish voice. "Aren't you going to tell me what you mean by that? We share a body, you know? We should also share all our secrets. It's only fair."

" **Shut up, idiot."**

"Tobiiiii, Zetsu is being a meanie again!"

* * *

I read a review about someone wanting to read a story from me focused more on the plot and I think that a more mature setting is just what the doctor ordered for me to get out of this lazy streak that I have fallen in. Don't be afraid, faithful readers, this story will be filled perversion and comedy, just like the others, though it won't be the main focus, unlike most of my stories. That honor goes to Naruto's development as a person and as a shinobi as he grows and faces different situations: good ones, meh ones, perverted ones, bad ones, funny ones and fucked up ones.

I won't be pulling my punches here so be prepared to face the full brunt of my creativity and the messed up shitstorm that is my mind. Tell me what you think of what is essentially the prologue and what is going to set up the events of the story. Let me warn you, I doubt I will be following canon a lot, if anything at all… which is a good thing actually.

Anyways, remember to review. I'm going to go to sleep since I have a test tomorrow at 10. Wish me luck. It is from the subject I failed the past semester, so you can say that I am posting this chapter today instead of a wek ago, when it was finsihed to give myself some luck in a way only a fanfiction writer can.

Love y'all.

The BadAss Writer.


	2. Winds of Change

**Review Responses**

 **From 'Guest':** Very little actual progress. To me this first chapter seems like another generic fanfic where all these characters are helping Naruto progress and there's no hard-earned growth or self-sufficiency on Naruto's part.

 **Answer:** Wait, what? Do you really think that Hiruzen Sarutobi, The Sandaime Hokage, The Professor, is going to let Naruto, the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, the former a shinobi the became the Hokage and the latter a kunoichi known as the Red Death (In my story) who is also part of the infamous Uzumaki Clan, and who is also the Jinchuriki of the MOST POWERFUL TAILED BEAST to his own devices? I don't know if you are reading this, and I don't care, but I want you to know that I'm not Kishimoto and that I will not use plot devices like that to make the story advance as I wanted to. Any common sense using military leader would make sure to keep his best asset close and under supervision, making sure that it would be effective and that there would ne no way it would turn on him, which is what Hiruzen is doing, since in my story his a extremely effective leader, because he learned from his mistakes.

 **From 'Omni-Creator Kami of Anime':** This definitely seems like an interesting story, with incredible potential. Do you think that in the future, Naruto could receive an infusion of Sasuke's Blood and DNA? That way, Naruto could not only unlock and obtain the Sharingan and eventually the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, but the combination of Asura's and Indra's chakra would allow Naruto to eventually obtain the Rinnegan (preferably the special variant that Sasuke has in canon, so that Naruto retains all the powers of the EMS and Rinnegan, along with additional powers and abilities). I know this story is more serious than Deus Ex Naruto, but I hope many hot and sexy women are in the harem.  
Including hot MILF's like Mikoto and Hitomi. Please update soon!

 **Answer:** Thank you man, your feedback is always appreciated. I'm afraid that that's not going to be possible. Giving Naruto the Sharingan, Mangekyo Sharingan, EMS and/or The Rinnegan, on top of everything that he will have will be like making the same mistake Kishimoto did with Madara. While an OP character and powers are good for comical works, like in my own DEN and DxD: Gamer respectively, for serious stories characters should have certain limits to make things interesting. As for the harem thing, I'm sure you can guess at least two girls who are going to be in it from what I have published of this story already.

 **From 'Guest':** Interesting...So Mikoto might be the one to kill the Uchiha clan. I wonder what he pairings would be. I wouldn't mind it if Naruto and Mikoto had a friends with benefits like relationship when he is older and then she is killed or something but the main pairing should not be Hinata or Sakura. Maybe a fem Haku or even a fem Ne/root member.

 **Answer:** You almost predicted what is going to happen, though it might not go necessarily like that. The pairing is Naruto/Harem. Naruto and Mikoto will be more than just friends with benefits. Mikoto is too important to be killed. Naruto definitely won't be with Sakura. FemHaku for the win!

 **From 'Lord Fiction':** I hope you do not abandon this story.

 **Answer:** I hope so too, pal.

 **From 'KamiKageRyuuketsu':** i do not and not red trash about konoha fanboys who make naruto konoha's loyal bitch so bye you stupid fucking immature child.

 **Answer:** Considering that you are following the story, and the fact the you yourself have written a few stories with Naruto as the main character, meaning that you had to have read canon, in which Naruto is 'konoha's loyal bitch', I guess that I will take your review was mean as sarcastic and as a joke. If that is not the case, then I'm sorry for you.

 **From 'DarkGunman410':** Wow mikoto gives off a yandere vibe

 **Answer:** Boy, you don't have a fucking clue, though I hope she doesn't comes off as creepy in the future.

 **From 'Chaos537':** I dont really understand why Mikoto won't take care of her own kids but will take care of Naruto. Yes I know it wasn't her choice to have kids but still you would think she wouldn't be a shitty mom and then takes care of another kid even though it's Kushina's son.

 **Answer:** Imagine you are given a baby rabbit to raise by one of your friends and you gladly do so. You grow attached to this rabbit through the years and you love him as much as you would love a child of your own. A few years later, you have to give the rabbit back and when you do so you find out that the only reason you raised the rabbit was so your friend could kill it, cook it and eat it in front of you. That was what essentially what happened with Mikoto, the Uchiha Clan and Fugaku. If you aren't messed up in the head, I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't want to have anything to do with that friend or rabbits after that. Now, imagine that after that ordeal you get another friend, who understands what happens and helps you through it, and they have a another pet, like a dog or something. This new friend is the only you have and they suddenly leave the city, leaving you their dog to take care of it and to remember them by… and then you find out that possibly reason why your new friend left the city was because they were threatened by the ex-friend that traumatized you with the rabbit. See were I'm going? I hope you understand now. For the more thickheaded out there, that was a simpler example of a similar situation to Mikoto's. I'm not implying that they are comparable, geez.

You cannot be a shitty mother if you don't consider yourself to be a mother in the first place. Mikoto only gave birth to Itachi and Sasuke, but she didn't raise them, hence she is not even a mother on the first place.

 **From 'kirashu':** Interesting, i like Zetsu's inside about "Obito's failure", i think it's the first time i read this one specific information in a fanfiction. Plus, i do like Hiruzen character, i always saw Hiruzen as a "grey" guy, not the overly evil mastermind behind Naruto' suffering nor the big hero saving the day during his childhood, i always imagined him as the grey guy, the guy doing what he can to satisfy everyone BUT still slowly getting his way by manipulating minor event in his favor. Like this one, lying about Naruto, giving Danzo and Mikoto something "big" with apparently nothing "major" for him, but with time, Hiruzen will be the one getting his way.

 **Answer:** I always thought it was the reason why Obito went to get Kurama that day after it was stated that the Tailed Beasts had to be sealed in order, from the weakest to the strongest, in order for the process to work correctly.

I agree with you on Hiruzen. 95% of fanfics either portray him as a powerful, intelligent but naïve (HOW?) old man that only wants wha tis best for Naruto while other portray him as an evil mastermind that orchestrated every bad thing that happens to Naruto. I see Hiruzen in the same as you do, a wise, powerful, extremely intelligent and politically savvy war thorn old man that only wants what is best for the entire village, not particulars, who is also willing to get his hands dirty if it means accomplishing his goals.

 **From ' ':** This fic seems interesting. I do advise that the harem not exceed 5, and that if he dates an older woman, not until he 16. The idea of a little kid and a woman seems like pedophilia, and I'm not sure how he can support a mass harem without relying too much on his parents money.

 **Answer:** I'm afraid that the Harem will have more than five girls in it and I'm still deciding whether to add more or not. What I can promise is that is not going to be ridiculously large, twelve at the most. And like a wise Anko once said in that fic that was the first time I read her saying it: Old enough to kill, old enough to drink and fuck.

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. If I did I wouldn't be studying medicine right now. Rather, I would be committing seppuku because my pride and joy was being gangbanged by money-seeking whores. Kishimoto should man up and demand they stop publishing the Boruto manga.

* * *

 **Winds of Changes**

* * *

' _Hm, time really does fly when you are busy… that or it's that I'm just old as shit. It's almost been seven years already,'_ thought Danzo as he sat on his living room during the early morning, a cup of steaming herbal tea on his hand, enjoying the tranquility of having nothing to do as in just a few minutes he would need to go to his office to tend to ROOT's business. As much as it annoyed him, it was his duty to Konoha, and the correct running of ROOT was one of the reasons why Konoha was still standing as the strongest village in the Elemental Nations and no wars had started… unless you counted that Civil War in Kiri, but since it wasn't affecting Konoha, he and Hiruzen only kept tabs on it to see how it was developing and where it was going, so they could take some advantage when the time was right.

Anyways, after the attack of the Kyubi, the very next day, Danzo went and gathered up his loyal ROOT agents, spending an entire day doing so and he had been a little dismayed and more than just a tad annoyed when he found out that five of the sixty had been killed during the attack. After he had confirmed that yes, they had kept up with their training and that yes, they were still loyal to him, and Konoha by extension, he had tasked them with cleaning the village from any foreign agent. By that time, it had been already too late to stop the news of the attack spreading, but that didn't mean that they had to let other villagers snoop into Konoha's businesses without repercussions.

As he had suspected, none of the minor villagers had agents in the village, with them not having the resources nor enough quality on their shinobi to pull it off. Sunagakure (Village Hidden in the Sand) also didn't have any agents because they were allies, although lately the relationship with that particular village was straining because the Daimyo (Feudal Lord) was sending missions to Konoha that were rightfully and legally Suna's, but Hiruzen thankfully was not going to let that issue grow more than it needed.

Kiri also didn't have any agents, which was not surprising, since they do tend to keep to themselves unless threatened first and Danzo didn't fear an attempt of infiltration from them now because of the Civil War.

Kumo and Iwa, however, were the exception, which was not surprising… at all. Each village had one spy within the village and just like he had suspected, they had already sent reports on the attack Konoha had just suffered to their leaders. It would've quickly escalated into a wat had not Hiruzen deployed most of the shinobi on missions across the continent, giving those two villages enough pause for Danzo to do his part, which was to use ROOT in order to discourage other villages from attacking Konoha directly. It had worked as they didn't suffer any attacks, though some skirmishes between Konoha shinobi and Iwa shinobi and Kumo shinobi took place all over the continent for the next few months, but thankfully it didn't escalate further than that.

Going back to the two agents, Danzo didn't want the other villagers to know that Konoha was onto them so he made liberal use of one his ROOT members that was a Yamanaka to modify their minds in order to make them loyal to Konoha, while making the other villages think that they were still loyal to them, effectively creating double agents, While they wouldn't get vital information on Iwa and Kumo, they could now control what those villages knew about them, which was actually more vital than knowing what the others were doing in the long run.

Through the years Danzo made sure that ROOT grew within Konoha but since Hiruzen was now also in charge of the division, his methods were no longer the same. Instead of taking orphans from civilian families or clans, Danzo did his recruiting through ANBU, where he would scout those that showed the correct aptitude and skill set that was required in ROOT, after which they would be offered a place in the more obscure division in Konoha's military after some specialized training, which thankfully for Hiruzen didn't involve emotional conditioning. It still annoyed Danzo somewhat, but he couldn't deny that because of this, missions tended to be more successful than not when compared to before it was disbanded the first time, which hopefully was also going to be the last.

Even though ROOT was composed of two hundred shinobi right now, only a handful of people of its existence: Danzo and Hiruzen, obviously, Hamura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, because they were Hiruzen's advisors in all military manners, and finally, Jiraiya, because he was Konoha's Spy Master and it was he who provided most of the information for ROOT operations… thought lately most of his reports were focused on his ex-teammate Orochimaru, who had fled the village a few years ago after Hiruzen refused to make him the Godaime Hokage and he was found performing inhuman experiments on innocent Konoha villagers. Both Hiruzen and Jiraiya wanted Orochimaru dead, so it was not surprising that Jiraiya was focusing on him now that he was apparently active in the continent.

Thanks to ROOT, Konoha enjoyed a state of stability that could only be compared to the time the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju, ruled, since no one dared to move overtly against it. Directed by Danzo Shimura, with Hiruzen Sarutobi's blessing, two students of the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju, ROOT protected everyone within Konoha's walls from the shadows so every citizen and shinobi could live peacefully in the light, with them being none the wiser of the things that had to be done, acquired and sacrificed for all of them to enjoy their lives. That was the purpose of ROOT. It was…

"Oh! Good morning, Oji-san! Did you sleep well?"

Unconsciously, a proud smirk appeared on Danzo's face and he inclined his head towards the owner of the soft and young voice. "Good morning to you too, Naruto. I slept as well enough as it could be expected in my age, thank you for asking. How about you?"

Shrugging his small shoulders, Naruto smirked in a mischievous fashion, his whiskered cheek only enhancing his expression. "Certainly better than you did, Oji-san," he said cheekily as he walked into the living room, holding an ink pot, a brush and a blank scroll and took a seat on a cushion in front of the table that was in the middle of the room and he unfurled the scroll in front of him after setting it on the table.

Danzo's right eyebrow twitched once. "Are you implying something there about my age?"

Smirk still in place Naruto opened the ink pot and dipped the hairs of the brush in it, purposefully refusing to look at Danzo. "If the shoe fits…" He trailed off.

Danzo growled. "Cheeky brat."

Naruto began to write on the blank scroll, his strokes and wrist movements oddly graceful as beautiful kanjis began to appear across the length of the scroll. "Grouch old man," he answered promptly, not looking up from where he was working.

Danzo sighed in defeat, though a small smile was on his face that he was sure Naruto didn't notice. "Just keep working on your calligraphy until it is perfect. You are not far from it, actually. I'll give it a few more months before you are ready to start learning Fuinjutsu," he said, masking the pride he felt for the boy by using an annoyed tone when he spoke.

Naruto stopped his writing at that, blue eyes gleaming in eagerness as he beamed up at Danzo. "Finally! I've been working on this nonstop for the past two years! You and Jiji have hyping up Fuinjutsu ever since and I can't wait to learn it. It's part of who I am and where I came from, after all," he said softly at the end, smiling a bit sadly.

Not liking to see his surrogate grandson sad, because in Danzo's mind an expression like that didn't suit him, he reached forward and ruffed Naruto's red locks of hair, messing up the shaggy hair from the style it had previously been, with a bang partially covering his left eye and the rest almost reaching past his ear and halfway to the nape of his neck. "Yes. I'm surprised actually, since I was expecting for you to take a least one more year before you were a this level, but I guess the Uzumaki genes always ring true," he said with a smirk, looking down at the red haired kid.

Naruto frowned in annoyance and pushed Danzo's hand away. "As if!" He puffed his chest up and inclined his upwards in a haughty manner. "I may be from the Uzumaki Clan, who specialized in Fuinjutsu and Kenjutsu, but I'm pretty darn awesome myself. Don't downplay my skills like that, Oji-san," he said, his tone matching his smug pose.

Danzo snorted, not impressed. He flicked Naruto on the forehead, sending him sprawling to the floor with a yelp of surprise. "You are five decades too early to be getting a big head on me. You can't even use chakra," he said with amusement, trying and succeeding to rile Naruto up.

Naruto shot to his feet, showing strength and agility a kid his age shouldn't have as he flexed his knees into his chest and kicked out, smoothly landing on his feet as he glared at his surrogate grandfather. "That's not my fault since you and Jiji keep postponing formal ninja training, only allowing me to physical exercises from time to time," he said with annoyance as he pointed accusingly at Danzo.

Danzo sighed with resignation. "And we have also told you that your body needed to mature in order to handle the use of chakra. With all the physical activities that you have been doing ever since you could walk, you should be ready to start using chakra by the time your seventh birthday comes around," he said that while at the same time thinking. _'Specially you, brat. The amount of chakra I can sense from you is almost as big as Hiruzen's when he was on his prime. If we don't nip that issue in the bud now it's going to be a weakness rather than an advantage in the future.'_

Naruto's annoyance seemed to banish at that and he beamed up at Danzo, as he took his seat again. "Oh, why didn't you say so? That means we will start training when I come back from my trip to Suna with Jiji. By the way, is he going to come and pick me up or are we going to head to the Hokage Tower and meet him there?"

Danzo snorted in amusement and leaned back into his comfy chair, taking a sip of his tea before he answered. "We'll be meeting Hiruzen at the Tower but he has some business to settle before he sets out so we have to wait for an ANBU to come here to tells us that he is ready. You should keep working on your calligraphy as to not waste any time that you could use to improve yourself," he admonished slightly, noting that Naruto hadn't picked up his brush after he took his seat again.

Naruto gave Danzo a mock salute. "Aye, old man!" He said with a cheeky smirk before he picked up his brush and continued his graceful strokes, a focused look on his face that reminded Danzo of his father, while the exchange between them was more similar of something Kushina would do. Even though Naruto acted like both of his parents, he only knew of Kushina, for the simple fact that he couldn't be trusted with the secret of who his father was, which if it got out it could cause dire problems, like for example, a war with Iwa, since they were still resentful of what Minato had done to them in the last shinobi world war.

Shaking his head, Danzo looked at Naruto and unconsciously he began to think of the last six years again, but this time his reminiscing was focused on Naruto rather than his service to the village, although many would consider him raising Naruto a service to the village simply because he was the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi, and the son of the two strongest shinobi and kunoichi of their generation. At first Danzo was like that, seeing raising Naruto as his duty to the village but without noticing when and/or how, he began to care deeply and genuinely for the kid, until the point he considered him the grandson he never had.

Growing up, Naruto never gave him a lot of problems for the simple fact that he was not the only one taking care of him. He kept baby Naruto with him during the day, keeping him in a crib on his office to keep an eye on him while he was working and to amuse himself with his baby antics when paperwork became too annoying to deal with, while ANBU agents took care of him during the night so Danzo could rest. With Mikoto being there as much as her duties to the village, her missions and THE mission allowed her to do so, and she was of great help in those first few months when he would wake up in the middle of the night hungry and/or in need of a change of diapers. Also, thanks to the fact that Mikoto had given birth to her last son just a few months prior, she was still producing milk, so there was no need to get a wet nurse for Naruto, since Mikoto provided the nutrients and substances Naruto needed to enhance his immunological system gladly, seeing it as part of her duty to Kushina's memory and her son. In fact, nowadays Danzo was sure that what drove Mikoto was making sure that Naruto was always safe, which suited Danzo and Hiruzen just fine since it only made her more effective in her missions along with keeping her relatively sane.

Anyways, when Naruto learned how to walk, that was when Danzo took a more active role in raising him for the simple fact that Naruto's correct physical development was of such importance that he felt he needed to make sure himself that it was done as it should be. Danzo made sure that Naruto ate all the carbs, proteins and fats that his body needed daily and encouraged him to be as physically active as he could, to make sure that all the muscles and bones of his body developed and grew correctly. It got to the point that Danzo paid the Inuzuka to have their most playful puppies over so Naruto could play with them during entire mornings, while in the afternoon he would swim in the small pond in the back yard of Danzo's house, when he learned to do so after he turned four years of age, or go through basic Taijutsu katas when Danzo taught them to him when he turned five.

Danzo was so successful in his endeavors that he was not afraid to say that Naruto was the healthiest kid his age, and also one of the smartest, since his development was also focused on his mental capabilities. Danzo encouraged Naruto's ability to solve problems by buying him puzzles of all kinds as toys, that he would play with before and after he would start his physical activities. When he turned four Danzo taught him how to read and write, and when he managed to do both decently enough, Danzo had Naruto read all kinds of book from children stories like fables to slightly more complex books like history and geography and such as he advanced in his reading capabilities. Also, as soon as he could Danzo got Naruto interested in calligraphy, not wanting to waste the potential he was sure to have in Fuinjutsu. It was also the reason why Naruto knew who his mother was and the fact that he belonged to the Uzumaki Clan as Danzo had no choice but to tell him this in order to get him interested. It worked out perfectly in the end so Danzo didn't regret it, though Hiruzen had some reservations about that.

While Naruto was not going to be a Nara in the intelligence department, Danzo was sure that by the time he graduated the Academy, if Naruto kept the good habits Danzo had instilled in him as he grew, Naruto was going to at least be as intelligent as his father had been at that age, his intellect and knowledge growing as he did the same. Danzo shuddered suddenly, whether if it was in fear or excitement would remain unknown, as he imagined Naruto in the future, with the intellect, knowledge and abilities of both of his parents combined along with at least a measly control of the power of the Kyubi.

' _Heh, Konoha's future seems brighter all of the sudden,'_ he thought to himself amusedly, chuckling when Naruto became annoyed as he filled the scroll with ink and realizing that he needed to get another one from his room, where he kept them. Just as he was about to stand up, Danzo perked up and he looked to his right just before a plume of smoke with swirling leaves appeared a few feet away from where he was sitting. He ignored Naruto laughing in delight as he focused on the new arrival.

"It doesn't matter how many times I see it! The Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) never stops being cool!"

Eyebrow twitching at the awe in Naruto's voice, Danzo looked at the ANBU, not like he could distinguish a lot other than the fact that it was a male agent because of the width of his shoulders. His body was complete covered in a black cloak, the hood was up and his face was covered by a rabbit mask. Danzo raised an eyebrow at him. "Hiruzen ready, at last?"

Ignoring the child beaming up at him with admiration and awe, though inwardly the ANBU agent was amused by it, he nodded in the positive. "Hai, Danzo-sama. Sandaime-sama has finished settling the affairs of the next few days and is ready to depart. His guard is already with him. He is waiting for Uzumaki-san on his office as we speak."

Danzo snorted but nodded. "Alright, tell the old goat that Naruto will be there in ten minutes." When the ANBU nodded and left in the same manner that he came, much to Naruto's happiness, Danzo turned towards Naruto. "Clean after yourself here and go get your things, which I suppose you packed yesterday, right?"

Naruto stood up and picked all of his calligraphy utensils, rolling his eyes and scoffing before he smirked cheekily. "Of course, I did. After all, forgetting things is your thing, you senile old man!" He said before he laughed, sticking his tongue out at Danzo before he bolted out of the room, laughing all the way.

Danzo's eyes twitched and a blood vessel on his forehead seemed ready to pop. "Why you insufferable brat! When I get my hands on you!" He shouted after him, shaking his fist angrily. That anger quickly went away as he could never stay angry at Naruto fur things like that, since it was the way they showed how close they were, and their exchanges amused Danzo more than he cared to admit, though he wondered where Naruto learned to be so cheeky and quick witted.

Surely not from him, right?

 **.o0O0o.**

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in front of the entrance of the Hokage Tower, patiently waiting for Naruto and Danzo to arrive with the redhead boy so they could leave towards Suna. He had been originally on his office when he dispatched the ANBU to inform them that it was time go but Hiruzen, not wanting to spend more time than it was necessary on his stuffy office decided to wait for them outside because it didn't matter how comfortable the chair was or how beautiful the view of the entire village. The office was filled with memories of him trying, and failing, to defeat his most dreaded enemy… paperwork.

The reason why Hiruzen was going to Suna was to have meeting with the Kazekage (Wind Shadow) and the Daimyo, to get to the bottom of why the Daimyo was sending missions to Konoha, when he was supposed to send them to Suna, the shinobi village that was affiliated with the land he governed. Hiruzen wanted to solve that issue before it escalated to something that would harm both villages and he was under no illusion that it wouldn't because the repercussions for Suna's economy, which was already unstable during the best of times because of its location, would be dire.

And the reason he was taking Naruto with him was because the Kazekage had three children of his own that were around Naruto's age, meaning that Naruto could befriend them easily with his easygoing and accepting personality of his, though he had to work on his cheekiness and the habit of running his mouth, but that tidbit was on Naruto's own genes and Danzo's own personality. Anyways, Hiruzen was hoping to strengthen the relationship that Konoha had with Suna, and if he was successful on that endeavor then a friendship between the children of the Kazekage and Naruto, who everybody knew was extremely close figures of authority in the village, would only serve to deepen the alliance between the two villages, making it rock solid. That was what he hoped at least.

"Thank you again for letting me come on this mission, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen turned towards the voice and he smiled at the young man standing next to him. He was wearing the standard jonin uniform in Konoha but there were a few distinguishing features about him such as his gravity defying silver hair, oriented to the left, and the fact that most of his face was covered except for his right eye, which was half lidded in a seemingly bored fashion. Hiruzen shook his head, smile still in place. "There's no need for you to thank me, Kakashi-kun. I know that you've not been spending as much time as you wanted to with Naruto-kun due to your duties, so having you act as our guard for our trip to Suna is the best option for you to spend time with him and continuing doing your duty to Konoha."

There was also the fact that Kakashi was one of the strongest jonin in Konoha, so he was well suited to act as his guard, even though many would see it as overkill considering who they were going to meet on the road. In any case, Hiruzen was impressed with Kakashi, not only because of his skills but also because of the amount of growth he had shown emotionally and mentally, in spite of everything that had happened to him. One would think that having his father commit suicide because he chose to save his teammates instead of completing the mission, which resulted in Kakashi's father being rejected by most of the village including those he saved, and being the only one alive of his team would utterly break Kakashi beyond recognition, and it almost happened, had it not been for Naruto.

Kakashi had been in the brink of following his father's footsteps when Naruto's existence became known to him and Kakashi grasped the last living link to his sensei and through that his entire team. The only thing Kakashi didn't know about Naruto was the fact that he was the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi, but Hiruzen was not about insult Kakashi's intelligence and think that he at least didn't suspect that something was fishy about the whole 'Minato and Kushina taking the Kyubi with them' thing. Because of that, Hiruzen had some reservations about Kakashi being too close to Naruto, but in the end he let it be for the simple reason that Naruto had the same effect on Kakashi that he had on Mikoto. Without knowing, Naruto was the force that kept them going and motivated to be better today than what they were yesterday, and in Sarutobi's eyes that was as good for them individually as it was for the village, which suited the cunning Sandaime just fine.

Besides, Naruto needed older siblings figure to look up to that were loyal shinobi to Konoha so he could learn to emulate them.

Kakashi shook his head and his only visible eye closed, which was how he directed smiles to those he was talking to. "That might be true, Sandaime-sama, but I know who we are meeting later on the trip, so you didn't really have to include me. Because of that I'm grateful… for allowing me to spend some more time with Sensei's son. That means a lot," he said in his typical bored fashion, but there was an undertone of happiness and gratefulness that spoke volumes of how Kakashi was feeling right now.

Hiruzen just nodded, returning his smile… only for the smile on his wizened face to become a scowl when he saw Kakashi pulling out a book from his pouch. A book that read "Icha-Icha: Loving Slave Maid". It was his student's last piece of erotic literature. Now, you might think that the reason why Hiruzen was scowling was because Kakashi was reading smut in front of him, but the real reason was the fact that Hiruzen couldn't do the same because he had an image to uphold as the Hokage, which annoyed him to no end.

Hiruzen idly noted that Kakashi was a few chapters ahead of him. If he recalled correctly, Hiruzen left his reading right when Honoka-chan was about to do that thing with her…

Hiruzen blushed, coughed and discreetly wiped away his slight nosebleed when he caught two familiar figures making their way towards him and Kakashi. He turned towards the silver haired jonin. "They are here," he said, giving a pointed look to Kakashi, who sighed before he put his book away and he turned towards the direction Naruto and Danzo were coming from, his eye lightening up slightly as he caught sight of who probably was the only important person he had left.

As they approached, Hiruzen took the opportunity to observe Naruto and how those around him regarded him, and he was pleased with what he saw. Hiruzen knew that Danzo was making sure that Naruto grew up as healthy as possible and that he was already training physically, so the fact that he came up just past Danzo's waist at age of almost seven didn't surprise him, nor the fact that he walked with more grace, assurance and confidence than a kid his age should. The small smile on his face and the curious glint on his eyes as he looked around with curiosity always assured him that Danzo was taking good care of him, not that he doubted he would by this point.

The other thing that pleased him was how the populace perceived Naruto, which was in a slightly more than positive light because it was known that he was the son of Kushina Uzumaki, Konoha's Red Death. Nobody in the known had advertised the fact but Konoha's populace was not entirely stupid. The fact that he had her red hair, which was how she had been recognized, had her last name and was also adopted by Danzo, gave everyone the clues they needed to connect the dots. Because of that, Konoha's villagers and shinobi and kunoichi sympathized a lot with Naruto and were looking up to see if he was going to live up to the high bar Kushina had set.

It was a good thing that the other half of his parentage wasn't known, since they were already on strained relationships with Kumo. Iwa wasn't even worth mentioning what they would do. And an even bigger relieve was that his status as a Jinchuriki was only known to him, Danzo, Jiraiya, Mikoto and possibly Kakashi if he figured out. The consequences of that getting out could be dire, not only for Naruto, but for Konoha as well.

When they were a few yards away Hiruzen focused on his senses and his eyes widened and he shuddered as he felt Naruto's chakra. It was denser and bigger than his own when he had been on his prime and he noticed that it was still steadily and slowly growing as he continued to focus his senses on it. Hiruzen sighed but nodded resolutely to himself. _'It seems like we can no longer postpone his formal training on the ninja arts. If we keep it up like this his ridiculous chakra reserves will be a liability rather than an advantage.'_

"Oi, Jiji, we are here and… Nii-san! Are you coming too?! Alright! This trip went from awesome to.. to… to super awesome!" He said with a sheepish grin as he couldn't find another word.

Hiruzen let go of his thoughts for now and he smiled down at Naruto as he beamed up at him with admiration, respect and affection. While he wasn't around him as often as Danzo, Hiruzen felt that he was just as close to him as his old friend, for many different reasons but it boiled down to Naruto knowing that while he was still the Hokage he still took time off his week to visit him to talk to him and teach him things. "I can see that Naruto-kun. I trust that you didn't give Danzo too much of a hard time this morning," he said, chuckling when Naruto turned to glare in annoyance at Kakashi when said man ruffled Naruto's hair after confirming that he was indeed going with them.

While Danzo muttered in annoyance, Naruto smirked after he successfully pushed Kakashi's hand away from his hair. "Eh, the old man can take it. I think he actually likes it when I give him a hard time because it makes him believe he is younger… when he is actually getting older."

Kakashi chuckled in amusement while Danzo twitched as he glared down at Naruto. Hiruzen grinned at Danzo, silently telling him that it was his fault that Naruto was like this so he had no right to complain, before he looked down at the red-haired boy with amusement. "Is that so? In that case, I advise you to keep doing that since the younger Danzo feels the less likely he is to die of old age. Isn't that right, old friend?"

Danzo turned his glare towards Hiruzen while Naruto's eyes gleamed. "Hm, there's an idea."

Danzo turned towards Naruto, almost mechanically, and he force a grin that would've sent most kids running for the hills because of how terrifying it was. Naruto was not a normal kid so he met Danzo's grin with a full blown one of his own. "Brat, before you go, I have to speak with Hiruzen about a few private matters. Why don't you go over there with Kakashi and let me talk to my dear old friend here," he said, his voice as mechanical and forced as his expression.

Eyes glinting mischievously, Naruto nodded his head. "Sure. See ya, Oji-san." He turned towards Kakashi who was still chuckling in amusement. "Nii-san. Tell me about your last mission!"

Kakashi smiled as Naruto pulled him away out of hearing range, ruffling his again and chuckling when Naruto gave him another annoyed look. "Well, you see the mission was in the Land of Teas and we had to…"

Danzo grew serious the moment he knew that Kakashi and Naruto were out of earshot. "We must start his training ASAP." His tone was flat as he stated this as if it was a fact that couldn't be ignored anymore, which wasn't and the of them knew it.

Hiruzen nodded his head, clasping his hands behind back. "I agree. I felt his chakra when you two were approaching and the only thing I can say is that I am shocked. I knew that he was going to be have more chakra than normal because of him being an Uzumaki." And him being the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi went unsaid because they were in public. "But it is beyond anything I could've imagined."

Danzo nodded in agreement. "I start his training when you are back from Suna, then?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. His birthday will be two days after the day we are scheduled to be back so I guess we can wait for it to start immediately the day after." While Danzo would've preferred to start immediately, he understood the meaning behind Hiruzen's words. "Also, you won't be alone training him."

Danzo raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hm, is that so?" He was genuinely curious and not even for a second he thought that Hiruzen distrusted him with Naruto's training and that he thought he would attempt to turn him into a mindless and emotionless weapon. They have already proved to each other numerous time that they both have changed in their ways.

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. You will be training his Chakra Control, Fuinjutsu and physique while also containing to cultivate his intellect and his phenomenal development as you have been doing. I also want Kakashi-kun to spend more time with him so I think he should be the one to teach him Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu if it's possible, when the time comes. Jiraiya-kun would also want to teach him a few things about infiltration, stealth and sabotage and Fuinjutsu so I think we should leave it to him for whenever he takes to trouble to come by. And finally, his Taijutsu and Kenjutsu should be left for Mikoto-chan to teach him since I'm sure she copied the Uzumaki styles from Kushina at some point."

Danzo cupped his chin for a moment before he nodded in agreement. "That's a solid plan. I will focus on his physical and mental development, combat oriented or otherwise, and his chakra control and his development in Fuinjutsu while Mikoto teaches him Taijutsu and Kenjutsu, which I think should be enough for the first few years since Naruto being able to control his chakra should take propriety over anything else. Everything else could be taught to him slowly as he goes to the Academy."

Hiruzen smiled. "Agreed." Then he frowned. "We'll have to keep a close eye on him in case he accidentally, or not, unlocks that seal on his arm. I am sure it is full of things they left for him. While that will only aid on his training and his development, I don't think he will be ready to learn who his father is any time soon."

Danzo hmmed for a second before shrugging. "I'm sure you can come up with a half-truth to tell him why he can't experiment with a seal that will appear out of nowhere when he uses chakra. That's your forte, after all."

Hiruzen winced. "That was a low blow, even for you, Danzo," he said with a self-deprecating chuckle of amusement.

Danzo snorted. "As if you care." He then sobered up and stared at Hiruzen straight in the eye. "Speaking of Mikoto…" he let the sentence hand in the air to make it clear to Hiruzen as to what he was referring to.

Hiruzen sighed tiredly. "She will be reporting to you in my absence. And…" He trailed off before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly as he looked up at the clear blue sky. "I kow I have been stalling to take a course of action when we already have enough evidence and witnesses to move on them but I want to find a better solution other than the easy, bloody one." His eyes then narrowed. "What I can promise now, is that when I come back I will have my answer. Tell Mikoto to proceed with her mission as she had been doing. In case anything happens while I am away, you have green light to proceed with your way."

Danzo nodded, also knowing that this was Hiruzen's way of saying that he was also in charge while he was way. "Very well."

Hiruzen smiled before he reached out and clasped hands with his friends. "I will take my leave now. Try not to burn the village while I'm away trying to keep peace."

Danzo snorted but he returned Hiruzen's gesture. "Please, I should be the one worried about you being too benevolent and lenient. In the worst case scenario, I imagine you giving Suna the right to take mission from us along with eternal free supply of water and food."

The two grinned at each other before nodding. Danzo watched in amusement as Kakashi sighed in relief when Hiruzen pulled Naruto's attention away from him. He understood the sentiment. While it was impossible not to love the kid once you spent a certain amount of time with him, he could a pain the ass if he put his mind to it. As he watched them go, Danzo finally realized that for the first time he was going to be Naruto-free for the next two weeks.

Slowly, a perverted grin appeared on his face.

' _Honoka-chan! Wait for me!'_

 **.o0O0o.**

The sky was painted orange as day slowly became night and many small animals that lived in the forest and were up and about during the day made their way back to their lairs while the more dangerous animals that called the night the ideal time to be active got ready for their own activities. The forest was silent except for the gentle sounds of the Naka River as its water continued its course, ignorant to what was happening at the edge of the canyon on top of it.

Shisui Uchiha panted, blood trailing down the corner of his mouth as his Sharingan morphed back to his normal charcoal black eyes, his chakra finally giving out of him. He looked back, only to realize that he couldn't back out any further otherwise he would fall into the Naka River below him, which would result on his death surely, and he didn't want to die, at least not before giving his last report to Konoha's Authorities. That had been the plan… but he had been caught before he could escape.

' _Damnit! If Itachi and that masked man hadn't ganged up on me at the same time I would've been able to use Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods) to stop this before it even started but fuck I wasn't expecting them to realize I was there!'_ He cursed mentally before he turned towards the way he had come from, grimacing as the numerous wounds that littered his body protested sharply against his actions. He glared at the figure standing in front of him. "So, this is how it's going to be, huh?"

Itachi Uchiha narrowed his eyes in anger, the tomes of Sharingan spinning slowly as he looked at Shisui directly in the eye, portraying how furious and how betrayed he felt. "You give me no other choice, Shisui. You have betrayed us, your clan, your family. You betrayed me, someone you had the gall to call your best friend. And for what? A village that only pushes us away for something we didn't do and for things that happened in the past. You did it for people that only glare at you in distrust and barely concealed suspicion and hate whenever you step foot into it."

Shisui coughed up blood, showing that he was suffering from internal bleeding, before he scowled at Itachi. "Do you really think the Uchiha are not at fault for the things Konoha blames it for? Wake up, Itachi! The past is not so easily forgiven and more than one saw the Sharingan in the Kyubi's eyes when it was attacking! We should be thankful to be a part of the village after everything that has happened! And if you think it's impossible for us to be respected, look at me! I worked hard and showed my loyalty to Konoha and respected and loved by the villagers in spite of the fact that they know I am an Uchiha!"

Itachi shook his head. "You are naïve, Shisui. The only reason you believe that Konoha appreciates you is because you have been spying on us for them, and they wanted to secure your loyalty to them so as to keep you doing that. I have seen Konoha's true face whenever I took Sasuke with me on walks through the village." Itachi's scowl intensified and his eyes began to spin noticeably faster. "They glared at him, at my innocent little brother, just because he was an Uchiha, even when it was obvious he was too young to have anything to do with what happened. Those glares showed me that they wanted nothing more than to harm him. And nobody puts my little brother in danger and if I have to kill an entire village to secure Sasuke's safety, I will gladly do so."

' _I doubt they were glaring at Sasuke,'_ he thought sardonically. Itachi, in spite of being a prodigal genius on the level of Orochimaru of the Sannin, Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake, was not very well looked upon in the village for the fact that he was an Uchiha and his apparent disdain of everyone that wasn't a part of his clan. It wasn't like Itachi was arrogant, but he was cold and refused to make connections with others outside of the clan. That only worked in increasing the amount of distrust that people had for members of the Uchiha clan by the default this days, not like you could fault Konoha for doing so, since everything pointed at the Uchiha actively being a part of many of the things that had happened over the years since Konoha's founding.

Seeing his defiant glare, Itachi sighed and shook his head. "This is pointless. You have been brainwashed by Konoha and I doubt anything I say will make you see the light. You have been blinded, Shisui…" He trailed off and Shisui took a moment to feel amused at Itachi's choice of words but the spiky-curly haired Uchiha prepared himself as Itachi pointed his bloodied ninjato at him. "But I guess sight can be returned to your eyes after you are dead."

Shisui immediately understood the implications of Itachi statement and he snarled. "If you think that I'm giving you my eyes and the Kotoamatsukami, you have another damn thing coming!" He declared just as Itachi moved towards him at speeds that most jonin would be hard pressed to follow but the distance between them was enough for Shisui to make a hand seal and use the last bit of his chakra to activate the failsafe on his eyes.

Itachi's eyes widened in disbelief as Shisui's eyes bulged before they exploded in a shower of ocular tissue and blood just before he impaled him through the chest with his blade Shisui chuckled weakly in victory, his voice filled with pain, and Itachi's eyes tightened in anger as he failed his mission, which was to acquire Shisui's eyes so they could get access to the Kotoamatsukami, which would only make their plans easier.

In a rare show of anger, Itachi kicked Shisui's body off his blade, and he watched with a scowl as the body of who he thought as his best friend plummeted towards the waters of the Naka River below. He stood there a few seconds after his body disappeared into the dark waters and he turned around only to pause when two men walked out of the tree line and Itachi immediately sheathed his sword on his back and took a knee.

"I… I apologize father, Madara-sama. I was unable to acquire Shisui's eyes as he had apparently anticipated this happening and he destroyed them before I could do anything to prevent it," he said formally, his voice wavering at the beginning before sleeping into a monotone with the ease of long practice.

Fugaku gave his son a conflicted look as he approached him. "There is no need to apologize, Itachi. Killing who you thought to be your best friend is more than I could've asked and you did so without hesitation when we discovered his betrayal. I'm proud of you, son, no matter what happened," he said, putting his hand on Itachi's shoulder and squeezing to reassure him that he was not going to be punished for what he felt was a failure.

The other man, the one called Madara, who was wearing a cloak that covered his entire body and the only thing that could be seen because of it were his gloved hands and the orange, spiral-patterned mask with an eyehole from where a Sharingan could be seen, approached them slowly as he nodded his head. "Fugaku-san is correct, Itachi-kun. You couldn't have possibly known that Shisui Uchiha would have an immediate way to destroy his eyes. The plan is still doable even without using his Kotoamatsukami and the fact that he was dealt with before he could report my presence to Konoha's higher ups could be considered a win. And besides…" He trailed off as he looked at Itachi intently. "It is not like we came empty handed from this ordeal," he said with a chuckle.

Fugaku's eyes widened when he saw Itachi's eye morph into the Mangekyo Sharingan, its pattern resembling a windmill shuriken with just three blades. "The Mangekyo Sharingan…" He whispered and he felt silent as he saw tears slowly coming down from the outer corners of Itachi's eyes, even when if his face was still kept in his impassive expression. "Itachi… son… you can go. Get some rest. You have been through a lot and you deserve it," he said, smiling sadly at him.

Itachi turned towards him, opened his mouth to say something before closing it and nodding. He turned around and walked a few steps away before stopping. "Thank you, tou-san," he said before he disappeared, his body becoming a murder of crows that flew away, cawing as they did so.

"Be proud of him. He is the most promising Uchiha I have ever seen since my time and he knows were his loyalty must lay with," said Madara idly as he looked at the spot Itachi had been standing on.

Fugaku nodded his head. "I am aware of that and there is now one I am prouder of," he said, the sad smile on his face still in place. After a few seconds, he schooled his features into his default frowning expression before turning towards Madara. "My family has suffered enough already, Madara-sama. I can no longer wait to act."

Madara regarded Fugaku for a few long seconds before slowly nodding his head. "If that's the case then we must give the finishing touches to our plan and we have two weeks at the most to do so. The Jinchuriki is with the Sandaime on a trip to Suna and I am afraid that with him and Hatake around him, I won't be able to take him. I haven't still recovered my previous strength," he said, a bitter tone on his voice.

Fugaku nodded his head. "I understand, Madara-sama. The other members of the clan will acquire the Jinchuriki when he is back. After everything is said and done you wil have the clan at your disposal to regain your power and for everything else you might need in the future," he said with a bow, knowing that his attempt to dethrone Sarutobi could only be accomplished thanks to the information Madara had given them.

' _Fool.'_ Obito thought with disdain as he regarded Fugaku with amusement behind his mask. He inclined his head. "And I thank you, Fugaku-san. When we are successful, the world will be introduced to the Uchiha Clan of old and we will be respected and feared, as that is what we deserve."

Fugaku straightened up before he nodded, bowed and he left using Shunshin, knowing that who he thought to be Madara Uchiha dismissed him. Now that he was alone, Obito allowed himself to shake his head in disdain. Fugaku's pride and desire to see the Uchiha and his family at the top blinded him and made him disregard any kind of logical thinking whenever he was thinking of ways to make the Uchiha be at the top of the food chain. Otherwise, he would've questioned how 'Madara' knew that Naruto was the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi if he had been the past sixty or so years recovering from his fight with Hashirama Senju, who had supposedly killed him.

Fugaku would've also asked more questions like who his father was, since the identity of his mother was known due to everyone using common sense to figure it out. While Obito had wanted to make the information of Naruto's Jinchuriki status public to Konoha's populace so he was hated by them, he had been unable to do so because of his inability to enter the village. The barrier had been changed completely and his chakra signature was no longer recognized as friendly, which had been the whole reason behind why he had been able to do so in the first place almost seven years ago. Also, he couldn't use a puppet to do it for him, since he doubted anyone would believe an outsider with something like that when it was already believed that Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had taken the beast with them.

And the information about who Naruto's father was, Obito was going to keep that to himself until he could use it to crate further chaos that he could use for his advantage but that was going to be in the future. Now, what he needed to do was to enact his own personal revenge on the Uchiha Clan and Konoha. He chuckled darkly before he disappeared as the air rippled in front of him and he was sucked into a whirlpool of seemingly distorted air.

 **.o0O0o.**

Danzo was looking through reports on how the village was going, sitting behind the desk of the Hokage Office, which was only logical seeing that he was acting as regent while Hiruzen was away. It had been a day since Hiruzen left and Danzo was glad that Hiruzen had made so Danzo only needed to supervise that things were going smoothly, since Danzo already had ROOT to see to. He was also glad that Koharu and Hamura were also helping him on this matter, otherwise he would've finished developing his grey hairs.

Thankfully, nothing serious or bad had happened, meaning that he had been able to concentrate on his reading…

A puff of smoke and a swirl of leaves appearing in front of him stopped Danzo's perverted giggling and with the ease of years of long practice he wiped the blood that was coming out from his nose and he schooled his features into his normal serious expression. He watched as Mikoto, garbed in her ANBU uniform and wearing her raven mask, kneeled in the middle of the room.

"Report," he said simply, both of them knowing what she needed to report.

She nodded before she stood up and took off her mask, showing that she had barely aged in the past seven years. She could thank her extremely good genes and her constant training for that. With a weary expression on her face, she began to speak. "As you know, Fugaku is still suspicious of me even though I 'proved' to him that I was loyal to the clan by being his spy within Konoha's ranks. He still believes that my change was too sudden but he still accepts me as a member of his group, though he doesn't share everything with me. As a matter of fact, I think only Itachi, Kaori and a few of the Elders are privy to what his plans are. In any case, he confirmed that whatever is that he has planned, is going to happen when Hiruzen-sama comes back from his trip in Suna. The Uchiha are preparing and if my observations hold true then it almost seems like they are preparing for a large scale war."

Danzo hmmed in thought before nodding his head slowly, stroking the scar on his chin. "If that's the case then we are looking at as a minimum a coup d'état, since they are waiting for Hiruzen to return. What doesn't make any sense whatsoever is why they are looking for a straight confrontation. A fully developed Sharingan gives any Uchiha an unfair advantage over any regular shinobi, but two hundred people cannot hope to win against more than fifteen thousand, even with Hiruzen himself taken out of the equation. There is something we are missing…"

"Double that number, Danzo-sama," she said and when he motioned for her to elaborate she did so with a disdained and grim scowl. "The entire clan supports Fugaku, sir, and those who are retired but still have chakra to use their Sharingan are willing to participate in the fight. As a matter of fact, the only ones that are not going to fight are those who are too old to even move on their own and those that are too young, like around Sasuke's age and less. And still, the only ones that don't know about what is happening are the ones that are too young."

Danzo sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I feared that, though I was hoping that the entire clan was not involved in this foolish vendetta. I wish we could act already but we cannot be seen as the villains, which would happen if we suddenly attacked the Uchiha without proven reasons. They must make the first move first. I fucking hate this defensive position but there is nothing we can do when the matters are this delicate," said Danzo with a scowl on his face, wanting to get rid of the Uchiha. It wasn't like they didn't have Mikoto and Shisui as Sharingan users, and the young ones could still be taught to be loyal to Konoha.

Mikoto nodded in agreement, wanting off the clan herself for everything they have put her through just because of traditions and clan laws. "I will be ready to carry out the order whenever you or Hiruzen-sama deem it sensible, Danzo-sama," she said before she cocked her head to the side slightly, showing an inquisitive expression on her beautiful face. "I have been meaning to ask, Danzo-sama, is Shisui-kun on a mission out of the village right now?" She knew that her distant cousin was also spying on the Uchiha for Konoha, which was the reason why he was the only Uchiha she could respect and tolerate, though she was sure he didn't know she was doing the same granting him plausible deniability just in case.

Danzo's eyes grew alarmed as he stared right at Mikoto. "He is certainly not. Why are you asking this, Mikoto?"

She grew concerned at his sharp, concerned tone. "He wasn't in today's meeting…" she trailed off, her eyes widening as she realized the implications on what could've happened, "Danzo-sama! If Fugaku got his hands on the Kotoamatsukami…" She shuddered, imagining with dread what Fugaku could do with the power of the most powerful mind-control Genjutsu in the history of the Uchiha Clan at his beck and call.

Danzo groaned, rubbing his forehead tiredly as he slumped on his chair. _'I'm way too fucking old for this bullshit.'_ He told himself mentally before he shook his head slowly. "I can assure you that Shisui's eyes are not compromised. Shisui himself will make sure of that using the failsafe I provided to him should they come in danger of falling in the enemy's hands. However, the only reason why Shisui wouldn't show up at one of the meetings of your clan when he has never failed to do so is because he is either dead, or worse, captured."

Mikoto, slightly more relaxed now, could only sum up the new development in one word.

"Shit."

* * *

The plot thickens! Just what is Obito planning? What is the Uchiha Clan planning to do? Find out! On the next chapter of Dragonba- I mean- Path of the Shinobi.

Now, in all seriousness, if you give it a little bit of thought then you can probably figure it out with all the clues I have given you. Also, before anyone starts bitching about Itachi, read his scene carefully and you'll see that his character is still basically the same, because in his mind, everything that he is doing is because of his love for his brother and his clan, while in canon Itachi was driven by his love for his brother and Konoha. This is how I feel it would've gone had Konoha's higher ups acted with more common sense regarding Naruto and his status as a Jinchuriki. I love Itachi, he is my second favorite character, right behind Jiraiya.

Also, to make it clear from the beginning, Naruto will be strong. As in, very, very strong, though it will take a few chapters of training montages coupled with character development to see it come to be. Just so you have an idea to how strong Naruto would be… by the time he graduates the Academy, it would take the Sound Four (Without using cursed seal) without Kimimaro to pose a real threat to him, and I think I'm not giving credit to what Naruto will be capable of doing. Remember, he will start training at the age of eight under the likes of Danzo, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Hiruzen and Mikoto. What else would you expect? In any case, that doesn't mean that Naruto will be curbstomping all the badies, but they will find that their plans are not going to go as smoothly as they had planned.

I believe that's all for now. Next chapter we will see what happens in Suna. I think you guys and gals are going to like it.

Love y'all.

The BadAss Writer.


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